Thursday Read: Ascension Thursday - He Went Up
Today is Ascension Thursday, forty days after Easter Sunday. On this day in AD 30 (or possibly AD 33), Jesus Christ ascended to heaven, completing the sequence that began with incarnation. He came down at Christmas, lived among us for thirty-three years, died on Good Friday, rose on Easter Sunday, appeared for forty days, and today he went up - returning to the Father to reign as exalted Lord and send the promised Spirit.
The event happened on the Mount of Olives, just outside Jerusalem. Jesus led his disciples out of the city to Bethany, on the eastern slope of the mount. There he gave final instructions: "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8). Then something extraordinary happened.
"After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight" (Acts 1:9). Not "he disappeared" or "he left them" but "he was taken up before their very eyes." The ascension was visible, physical, witnessed event. Jesus didn't fade from view or become invisible. He went up - bodily, visibly ascending until a cloud obscured him from sight. This was coronation, not disappearance. Jesus was returning to claim his throne.
The disciples stood staring at the sky where Jesus had disappeared. Then two angels appeared in white robes: "Men of Galilee, 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 you have seen him go into heaven" (Acts 1:10-11). Several crucial points packed into this angelic announcement.
First, "this same Jesus" - not a different Jesus, not a spiritual version, not a symbolic presence. The same physical, bodily Jesus who ascended will return. The ascension doesn't end Jesus's physical existence. He remains embodied, though now glorified. Christianity is irreducibly physical. Incarnation means God became flesh, died in flesh, rose in flesh, and ascended in flesh. The Word didn't become word - he became flesh and remains flesh.
Second, "will come back" - the ascension isn't permanent departure but temporary absence. Jesus left to prepare a place, intercede as priest, send the Spirit, and reign as Lord. But he's coming back. The ascension guarantees the second coming. He went up visibly; he'll come down visibly. The disciples weren't staring at permanent loss but temporary separation.
Third, "the same way you have seen him go" - just as the ascension was visible, physical, and public, so will the return be. When Jesus comes back, it won't be invisible spiritual event or secret rapture. It will be visible, unmistakable, universal. Every eye will see. Every knee will bow. Every tongue will confess. The same way he went up - that's how he'll come down.
What did the ascension accomplish? First, it completed Jesus's earthly mission. The cycle was finished: incarnation (he came), ministry (he taught), atonement (he died), resurrection (he rose), ascension (he returned). Everything necessary for salvation was accomplished. The work was complete.
Second, the ascension was Jesus's coronation. He took his rightful place at the Father's right hand, receiving the authority and glory he'd temporarily laid aside at incarnation. Philippians 2:9-11 describes it: "Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." The ascension enthroned Jesus as cosmic Lord.
Third, the ascension enabled the Spirit's coming. Jesus had told his disciples: "Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you" (John 16:7). The Spirit couldn't come until Jesus left. This seems counterintuitive - how is losing Jesus's physical presence good? But Jesus's localized physical presence (limited to one place at one time) gave way to the Spirit's universal presence (available to all believers everywhere simultaneously). The ascension made Pentecost possible.
Fourth, Jesus ascended to serve as our high priest and advocate. Hebrews 7:25 says "he always lives to intercede for" us. Jesus entered the true heavenly sanctuary to represent us before the Father continuously. When Satan accuses you, Jesus defends you. When you sin, Jesus intercedes for you. When you pray, Jesus presents your prayers to the Father. His ascended ministry matters as much as his earthly ministry.
Fifth, Jesus ascended to prepare a place for believers. He promised: "I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am" (John 14:2-3). The ascension was departure with purpose - preparing for believers' eventual arrival in the Father's house.
The disciples' response to the ascension matters. Luke 24:52 says they "worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy." They didn't despair at Jesus's departure. They worshiped and rejoiced because they understood that the ascension was good - necessary for the Spirit's coming, essential for the mission's success, prerequisite for universal presence. They trusted Jesus's promise that something better was coming.
Today, Ascension Thursday, remember: Jesus is not wandering earth as itinerant teacher. He's reigning as exalted Lord at the Father's right hand. He's interceding for you as high priest. He's preparing your place. He's sending the Spirit. He's coming back. The ascension changed how Jesus relates to his people, but it didn't end his relationship with them. He's more present now through the Spirit than he could be through localized physical presence. The ascension was gain, not loss. Trust it.
