Faithfulness Of Ascension

On this final day of the week, we come, not as disciples who are offended by Jesus and who are ready to stop following Him, because His ways and words are too hard for us. Not in the least, we come with the simple heart and mind that believes that regardless of what Jesus says or does, we have no other Lover, Master, Teacher and Saviour than Jesus. We pleadingly, in total faith and trust, make the words of Peter our own, as he responds to Jesus. Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God. John 6: 68b – 69.

Notwithstanding, how have you been with Jesus’ use of His Ascension? Let me explain what I mean. Jesus is faced with disciples who, after hearing Him speak about Himself as the Living Bread sent down from Heaven and they are to eat His Body and drink His Blood, if they are to have real, true life. This offends them no end to the point where they are grumbling about what they are hearing. Now this is what gets me, as I am sure I have previously indicated. However, if I have not, I emphasize it forcibly.

Listen to Jesus again and what He chooses as more offensive to them. Just listen carefully, as you are given ears to hear. So what I have said has offended you, Jesus tells them, what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! If you think that this is a hard teaching, if you see it as offensive, what about if you see Me ascend, back to where I have come from! I don’t know whether this is relevant or not, but the Bible translation I am using, has an exclamation mark at the end of Jesus' speech not a question mark and it has really set me up to hear a tone in Jesus' voice which makes an exclamation. It’s something like this. So I’m standing on the street corner with you, my friends, something which I do on a regular basis. You have listened to me and I have listened to you. All is going well, until I tell you that I am royalty. You laugh me to scorn, ridicule me and when you realize that I am dead serious about it, you shake your hands and fists at me, most offended. Then I say to you, “If you are offended by me telling you that I am royalty, what if you see me sitting on my throne!” It means that there is big progression here and this is how you and I are being made to see Jesus’ Ascension. It is because of how He uses Ascension here that brings us to want to see and know Ascension in our lives, as Jesus knows it.

I have a confession to make though and it is this. I said to Jesus that I would have thought that the biggest thing here would be to tell them of His resurrection, not His ascension. I mean, Resurrection is BIG. It is, said Jesus, but it is what they know, believe and accept as Jews, except for the Sadducees. Our Jesus told me that these are Jews and they have come up with the prophets and the Scriptures and know of Elisha raising the dead, for example. They also know of Him raising the Nazarene, Lazarus and others. No! His Resurrection will not bring the same response as His Ascension, as this will be doubly BIG to those Jews.

Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! Jesus, the Man from Galilee, is going up to heaven before their very eyes! Jesus, the Nazarene, ascending to where He was before! Jesus, carpenter Joseph’s firstborn, returning to heaven on a cloud!