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What Makes Jesus’ Ascension Important?

Luke 24:49-53: The Ascension in Luke

“Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.” And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven. And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God. Amen.

[49] I send the Promise of My Father upon you: They could not do the work Jesus had called them to do unless they were endued with power from on high, and that power would come as the Holy Spirit was poured out upon them.
[50-51] He lifted up His hands and blessed them . . . while He blessed them: Jesus continued to appear to His people for 40 days following His resurrection. Eventually came the day when He would ascend to heaven. When He did, Jesus left the earth blessing His Church, and He continues to bless them, as much as His people will receive.
Nothing but blessing had ever come from those hands; but now, Jesus stands as the High Priest over His people to bless them.
When Jesus blesses His people, it isn’t just a pious wish like “I hope things work out for you” or “I hope you will be feeling better.” Instead, the blessing of Jesus has inherent power within it.

iii. “If he has blessed you, you shall be blessed, for there is no power in heaven, or earth, or hell, that can reverse the blessing which He gives.” (Spurgeon)

[51] He was parted from them and carried up into heaven: Notice that Jesus was not carried to heaven by angels, or by a whirlwind of fire, as was Elijah. This was a visible demonstration that He was God and could rise of His own power, choosing to suspend all the laws of gravity.

It was unthinkable – impossible, really – that the resurrected Jesus would die.
It was unthinkable that Jesus would “fade away,” appearing fewer and fewer times until no one saw Him anymore.
It was unthinkable that Jesus would just “disappear.”
This way of leaving – decisive, visible to His followers – was essential. It marked the end of one chapter and the beginning of another.

Acts 1:9-11: The Ascension in Acts

Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”

[9] He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight: Jesus was taken up from them as He blessed them (Luke 24:50). As He slowly disappeared into the sky, surrounded by a cloud they continued to gaze upward. [9] While they watched, He was taken up.
[11] Why do you stand gazing up into heaven? The two men (apparently angels) told the disciples to put their attention in the right place (obedience to Jesus’ command to return to Jerusalem), not in wondering where and how Jesus went. Jesus told them to go to the ends of the earth, and they stood gazing up into heaven.
[11] Will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven: Jesus will return just as He left.

He left physically and will so come in like manner.
He left visibly and will so come in like manner.
He left from the Mount of Olives and will so come in like manner.
He left in the presence of His disciples and will so come in like manner.
He left blessing His church and will so come in like manner.

Seven Reasons Why the Ascension was Necessary

1. The Ascension of Jesus was necessary to show that Jesus was really gone.

Luke 24:51 – He was parted from them and carried up into heaven

Acts 1:9 – While they watched, He was taken up

**2. The Ascension of Jesus was necessary to show where Jesus went.**

Luke 24:51 – He was parted from them and carried up into heaven

Acts 1:11 – This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven

**3. The Ascension of Jesus was necessary to show that Jesus was and is alive.**

Luke 24:51 – He was parted from them and carried up into heaven

Luke 24:52-53 – they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God

4. The Ascension of Jesus was necessary to send blessing.

Luke 24:50-51 – He lifted up His hands and blessed them. Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them

5. The Ascension of Jesus was necessary to send the Holy Spirit.

Luke 24:49 – Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high

Acts 1:8 – But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you

John 16:7 – It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.

6. The Ascension of Jesus was necessary for Jesus to continue His present ministry of intercession, praying for His people.

Romans 8:34 – Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.

Hebrews 7:25 – Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

7. The Ascension of Jesus was necessary to model His return.

Acts 1:11: Will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven

He left physically and will so come in like manner.
He left visibly and will so come in like manner.
He left from the Mount of Olives and will so come in like manner.
He left in the presence of His disciples and will so come in like manner.
He left blessing His church and will so come in like manner.

The Ascension of Jesus was necessary to show that Jesus was really gone.
The Ascension of Jesus was necessary to show where Jesus went.
The Ascension of Jesus was necessary to show that Jesus was and is alive.
The Ascension of Jesus was necessary to send blessing.
The Ascension of Jesus was necessary to send the Holy Spirit.
The Ascension of Jesus was necessary for Jesus to continue His present ministry of intercession, praying for His people.
The Ascension of Jesus was necessary to model His return.

With the advent of more online ministries, is online baptism possible?

Let me answer that question, straight as you give it to me. You asked, “Is online baptism possible?” Yes, it’s possible. Is it good? No, it’s not good. We need a real flesh and blood community of believers. Baptism communicates many different things. One of the things that baptism communicates is that you are part of the body of Christ. You are a member of His body, His family, which is best expressed in the context of real, flesh-and-blood people.

Now, you didn’t ask, “Is it best?” You ask, “Is it possible?” There are all sorts of things that are possible in an extremity or an emergency. Is it possible for a person to baptize themself? Yes. If there was absolutely no other option, if you were on a desert island and there was nobody else to baptize you, yes. Is it best? Is it optimal? No.

You should only baptize yourself if that’s the only way you can do it. I would say that you should only have an online baptism if that’s the only way you can do it. Part of the dynamic of these beautiful gifts God has given to us in baptism and in the Lord’s Supper is that they are communal, community things. They need to be practiced, ideally, in a real flesh-and-blood community.

Was King David born out of wedlock?

I recently heard in a class that it was thought that King David was born out of wedlock to Jesse. Have you heard this? And what are your thoughts?

I’m going to suppose that this thought comes from Psalm 51:5, which says, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me.” David, in this great psalm of repentance, says that he was conceived in sin. Now, the idea that David was conceived in sin has no doubt led some people to say that he was born out of wedlock, out of some adulterous affair or something like that. It is not at all necessary to interpret David’s words in that way. David’s words in Psalm 51:5 can very plainly and straightforwardly be understood as saying, “I was born in sin. I’m a sinner from my birth. From the very moment of my conception, I was a sinner, and I fell short.”

I don’t think there’s any other indication in the Scriptures that David was born out of wedlock or born outside of marriage, therefore I wouldn’t believe that he was. I think it’s just a misunderstanding of the phrase where David says that he was conceived in iniquity. It is not necessary at all to understand that to mean that David was born illegitimately.

What does stewardship look like for a Christian, beyond our finances?

Stewardship has to do with whatever gifts or resources God has given you. Now, when I say God has given them to you, I don’t mean that you haven’t developed those resources yourself. But even the ability to develop those resources is a gift from God. Let’s say that someone starts out without much money. Perhaps they didn’t receive a lot from their parents, and just didn’t have a well-advantaged start in life. But through hard work and wise investing, they get a substantial amount of money. Now that person might think, “Hey, God didn’t give me this. I got it myself.” It is true that their hard work was involved in the building of those resources. But it’s not by any means the only factor.

Some of the factors at work were anything God gave to them providentially through other people in specific situations, as well as what God gave to them personally in their ability or desire or wisdom to work hard. To the best of our ability, we have a responsibility to use the things God has either directly or indirectly given to us.

Let me give you other areas of stewardship. God has given you gifts and talents. Are you using those gifts and talents to the glory of God? God has given the earth to humanity, to steward and have dominion over it. Are we stewarding the earth, the created world around us, in a way that would bring glory to God? Are we wisely using those resources, and not being destructive with the resources of the earth? Are we using them with an eye to the future, to be able to continue to use the resources of the earth?

We can also think of gifts and talents in terms of influence. If God has given you influence, such as a notable name, are you using it for the glory of God who has given you your abilities and personality? Are you using those things for His glory? That is stewardship. Stewardship encompasses the wise and God-glorifying use of anything that He has given us.

One more thing about that. Two scriptures that go along with this concept. What immediately comes to mind is what Jesus said a couple times in the gospels: “For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.” (Matthew 13:12)

Here’s the principle. When we make wise use of what we have, then God gives more to us. If you want more of something, make wise use, God-glorifying use, of whatever it is you have right now. Some people think, “I’ll be a good steward of my money once I’m rich.” You may never become better off financially that way. What you need to say is, “Whatever God has given me right now, I’m going to make wise use of that resource.”

What does Paul mean in 1 Corinthians 10:11 when he writes, “Because of the angels”?

1 Corinthians 11:10- For this reason the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.

In 1 Corinthians 11, Paul is speaking within the context of head coverings in the Corinthian congregation. Head coverings were a way of recognizing God’s order of authority and leadership in the church. It was a way for a woman to express that she was in some sense — not in every sense, of course, but in some sense — under the authority of the leadership that God had established in the church. That was the whole idea behind the head covering.

I’m not going to get into a big discussion on head coverings. I and many others do not insist that women in the church must wear a head covering today. The reason is because in the ancient culture of the Corinthian church, the head covering signified being under authority. However, does not signify the same thing in our culture. If you were in a culture where the head covering communicated such an idea, then I would say in church women should do that in church. Apart from that, the important thing is to observe the principle, the proper respect of God’s order of authority, and not to worry about how that might be expressed differently from culture to culture.

One of the reasons why Paul gives the instruction that women should wear the head covering in the Corinthian church, and why the proper order of authority should be respected, is because angels are present. We have a few passages in the Scripture about this (Paul mentions it a couple times, and Peter mentioned it in his letter), where we are led to understand that our lives, and particularly the conduct of the church as a whole, are under angelic observation. In other words, angels are watching what we do together as a congregation. Therefore, we need to show the angels that we are obedient and responsive to God’s command, and not show the angels that we don’t care about what God has given us in the Bible, or that we’re just going to do it our own way. Being under angelic observation is one reason, although it’s not the only reason, why the Apostle Paul says God’s order of authority should be respected in the churches. That’s really the idea, just one reason why God’s order of authority should be respected in congregational meetings: because congregations are under angelic observation. We need to teach the angels the right lesson, so to speak. We need to show them that God’s people are obedient. The Bible tells us in other passages, most notably in Ephesians, that God is using the church to teach angelic beings His wisdom and His power and His glory.

Is our cultural celebration of Easter pagan?

I’ve been studying how our cultural Easter celebration is from paganism. How did pagan worship come so close to the death and resurrection of Jesus, 1000 years before Jesus?

I suppose you are referring to the people who point out that there were resurrection stories or myths in the pagan world, which preceded the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Perhaps you are concluding that our celebration of Easter actually has much more to do with those pagan traditions of someone coming back from the dead, than they do with the resurrection of Jesus. It is true that there are stories, myths, legends of gods coming back to life. But the differences between those stories and the story of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus are even more pronounced than the similarities.

I would recommend you look at some of the excellent work that Mike Winger has done on that subject. He is a fantastic apologist on YouTube. I’m very pleased to see that he’s getting quite a following on his YouTube channel, because he really does a great job on apologetics. I have not yet found a place where Mike and I disagree in our approach to the Scriptures. I think he is right on. I know that he’s dealt with this topic in some depth.

Yes, there are some similarities between the Jesus story of His life, death and resurrection, and some pagan myths, whether they originated before or after the time of Jesus. But again, the differences are even more pronounced than the similarities. We shouldn’t think that the story of Jesus is just a reworking of those tired old myths or legends.

As far as the accoutrements that somebody may add to Easter celebration: look, nobody has any biblical command. If you don’t want to have an Easter egg hunt, then don’t have one. If you don’t want to give chocolate bunnies to your grandkids, then don’t do it. If you want to say “No, on Easter we’re only going to go to church and remember the resurrection,” then you have complete freedom in Jesus Christ.

However, if someone could do it without any pagan association in their heart or mind, then they’re also free in Christ to give a chocolate bunny to their grandkids. I think these are areas in which people have freedom in Christ. If someone’s conscience convicts them before God, through the work of Holy Spirit, by all means, do it. But we should not be passing laws or rules for other believers based on such things.

Why do you think the Ascension is an unappreciated and largely neglected doctrine?

I don’t know why, exactly. I think that many preachers and theologians haven’t really known what to do with the Ascension. In my lead question, I walked through seven of the many possible reasons the Ascension was necessary. But I think that people just haven’t known what to do. They haven’t thought it through. Obviously, when we’re talking about the person and work of Jesus, we focus upon His death and resurrection, His birth, His sinless life, and His miracles. I think that to some people, maybe the Ascension of Jesus seems somewhat impersonal. It’s Jesus departing, not Jesus drawing closer to His disciples, even though we would argue that He did draw closer to His disciples through the sending of the Holy Spirit. It’s remarkable what Jesus said. Jesus said that His sending of the Holy Spirit following His Ascension would be better for His disciples than His own bodily presence. He said, in the Gospel of John, “It is to your advantage that I go away.” That’s one possibility: maybe preachers and theologians haven’t really understood what to do with the Ascension, because it seemed a little bit distant to them.

I’ll give you one other reason. Ascension Day happens on a Thursday. Think about that. If the Day of Ascension happened on a Sunday, a lot more preachers would preach about it, wouldn’t they? Pentecost happens on a Sunday. There are a lot more sermons about Pentecost, or Whitsunday, for our British brothers and sisters. There are a lot more sermons about Pentecost than there are about Ascension Day. Maybe the fact that it happens on a Thursday is related to that.

Let’s buck that trend. Let’s encourage our pastoral colleagues to preach about the Ascension, talk about the Ascension, teach about the Ascension. It’s something wonderful and beautiful. It’s an important aspect of Jesus’ ministry.

The Bible states that God defends Israel. I know that they will ultimately “win” – but why is the present-day state of Israel experiencing so much chaos and crisis now?

This is a great question, and it comes with a very complicated answer. Yes, it’s true. God has promised to defend Israel. And He promised that ultimately Israel will win, in this sense: God promises in Romans that all Israel will be saved in the end. All Israel doesn’t necessarily mean every last person of Jewish extraction. It means that the Jewish people will be known as a Messiah-believing people instead of a Messiah-rejecting people. All Israel will be saved in that day, as it says in the prophet Zechariah.

Jesus prophetically speaks of the end, saying, “They will look upon Me whom they have pierced, and they will mourn for Me as one mourns for their firstborn son.” It’s heavy, isn’t it? So yes, you’re right. Israel ultimately wins. God has promised that Israel will not pass away on the earth; Israel will not be forsaken by God.

I use the terms “the Jewish people” and “Israel” somewhat interchangeably, even though technically we could make a distinction between the two, especially if we talk about the modern state of Israel. For now, let’s just talk about Israel as the Jewish people group.

God has said that Israel will endure great trial and difficulty. One of the descriptions of the Great Tribulation in the prophet Jeremiah calls it the time of Jacob’s trouble, the time of Israel’s trouble. As bad as it is for the Jewish people now, prophetically speaking it will get worse before the very end. God promises that Israel will ultimately triumph, and will be a Messiah-accepting, not a Messiah-rejecting people. But they will have to pass through significant difficulty along that way.

There’s another aspect to this. Under the old covenant, God said to Israel, “If you obey Me, I will bless you.” I’m paraphrasing the ideas from both Leviticus and Deuteronomy. “If you obey Me, I will bless you so much that the whole earth will know that people could only be so blessed if the Lord was with them.” But the Lord also said to them, “If you disobey Me, then I will bring terrible curses upon you. And the world will marvel that people so cursed can yet endure.” God said, “I’ll glorify Myself through you one way or another: either through your obedience or your disobedience.”

I love and appreciate the modern state of Israel. I also love and appreciate my Arabic brothers and sisters, and I pray that Jesus Christ will being peace between Isaac and Ishmael. I think Jesus is the answer to bring peace between Isaac and Ishmael. He is the great answer. While I express my appreciation and love for Israel and the Jewish people, I do not mean to exclude, for a moment, my love and appreciation for the Arabic peoples of this world and of the Middle East. We want good and blessing for them. We want peace and prosperity for them as well.

We understand that Israel today is gathered — though according to the plan of God, I believe — in unbelief. The modern state of Israel has a strong religious component with the Orthodox and observant Jews, but it is by no means a majority in the nation. Most Israeli Jews are secular. The expression of their Judaism is almost purely cultural. God still needs to get the attention of the Jewish people in Israel in many ways.
To summarize, God has an enduring role for the Jewish people in His unfolding plan of the ages, and they will not and cannot perish from the earth until that is ultimately fulfilled, though it may happen through great trouble.

Can you explain modalism? A study Bible I read seems to suggest modalism.

Can you explain modalism? I read in a study Bible that the Holy Spirit had come so Christ could be in multiple places simultaneously. I’m curious whether this study Bible is suggesting modalism?

I would have to read the very specific words and descriptions of that study Bible to tell exactly what they mean, but I will give a basic definition of modalism. Modalism is the idea that God does not exist as a Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, all together from eternity past to the present to eternity future. It suggests instead that God has existed in different modes: He was God the Father, then He became God the Son, and now He is God the Holy Spirit. Therefore, if God is now God the Holy Spirit, He is no longer God the Father, and he is no longer God the Son; He can only exist in these different modes.

This doctrine is wrong. The Bible does not teach this. A full biblical understanding that rightly divides the word of truth will not lead a person to modalism. It will lead a person to understand that there is one God who exists in three Persons from eternity past to the present day to eternity future, never ending.

It is true that the Spirit of Christ can be present with all His people at once, because of the sending of the Spirit when Jesus ascended into heaven. I can’t know whether or not the study Bible you’re referencing is teaching modalism, but it may be that people are just being imprecise in their terminology. Sometimes we accuse Christians of heresy or wrong doctrine, when they’re actually just confused. We’ve got to give some grace for that. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I’ve been confused in my mind about a doctrine. Other times, I’ve been confused in my words about a doctrine. We need to understand that.

Do people who have accepted Jesus as their Savior still need deliverance?

Do people who have accepted Jesus as their Savior still need deliverance? Doesn’t having the Holy Spirit in us, through the acceptance of Jesus, cleanse us from all our sin, and generational curses?

Yes, there is absolute provision in the person and work of Jesus Christ on behalf of the believer, to set the believer free from all sin and all generational curses. That power is in what Jesus has done for the church. There may be points where that needs to be consciously applied to the believer’s life. I do not agree with the normal connotation of the word “deliverance,” that people need to be freed from demonic possession. But sometimes people use that term in a broader sense. We just need to be very precise in defining our terms.

I don’t believe that a Christian can be demon possessed. But I do believe that a Christian can be demon harassed, if that makes sense. I’m not going to take the time to go into it in greater depth. There is a place for a believer to very consciously take what Jesus has accomplished at the cross and apply it in a specific sense to their present situation, and to live in the freedom and victory that Jesus Christ has won for us. In that sense, you could say that the believer operates from the victory of Jesus, not from a victory that they could earn by their own holiness, their own efforts, or their own skill in combating the forces of darkness.

There is full provision in what Jesus Christ has done on our behalf on the cross, for us to be free from sin and its guilt and stain, and as we continue to grow in Christ, to be increasingly free from the power of sin in our life. There’s provision and we need to specifically apply it. There is power and authority in the work of Jesus on the cross to set us free from any of the harassment that Satan would bring against the believer, and it needs to be applied specifically to the believer’s need. Take a great sense of peace and satisfaction in that work of Jesus Christ on your behalf.