Thursday marked the celebration of the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, commemorating Jesus’ ascension into heaven. It’s historically celebrated 40 days after Easter Sunday on a Thursday. Much of the Catholic Church, however, now celebrates the ascension on the seventh Sunday of Easter, now referred to as “Ascension Sunday.”
But what is the significance, the meaning of the message of Jesus’ ascension to heaven? Member of the Demon Slayer podcast and leader of the HungryGen movement Vlad Savchuk says that Jesus’ ascension signaled the end and success of His earthly ministry, and the return to His glory.
But what does Christ’s ascension into heaven mean for us as believers? Savchuk says there are eight points we should explore:
1. “First, the ascension of Christ marked the end of His humiliation and His entrance into the state of exaltation,” Savchuk says. “In Hebrews 10:12, it says that, ‘But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God.’ Theologians believe there are two states of Jesus—the humiliation and the exaltation of Jesus. The humiliation involves His incarnation, Him being born, suffering, death and burial. Exaltation of Jesus refers to His resurrection, His ascension, Him sitting at the right hand of God and Him returning in the glory and power.
2. “The second thing the ascension of Jesus teaches us is that Jesus is now stepping into a new work in heaven as our High Priest. Hebrews 4:14 says, that, ‘Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.’ Jesus will forever remain a member of the human race and He will forever remain the incarnate Son of God. Jesus became humanity’s new priest (see Heb. 7:25). In heaven, He steps into His role as our prayer warrior making intercession for us. We can come to God with boldness.
3. “Thirdly, the ascension of Jesus Christ brought an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The departure of Elijah released a double portion on his disciple, Elisha. The same thing is with Jesus’ followers. The disciples received the Spirit after Jesus ascended. Acts 2:33 says, ‘Therefore, being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear.’
4. “The fourth meaning of Jesus’ ascension is that He will come back the same way He left. In Acts 1:11, when these two men, angels, told the men of Galilee, they said this same Jesus is coming back. He left physically, but He will come back the say way He left. Visibly, He will come back.
“When I was in Israel, I stood on the Mount of Olives, not very far from Jerusalem,” Savchuk said. “It’s a beautiful place. It’s so surreal that Jesus actually ascended from this physical place. It’s even more incredible to have an expectation that He is coming back to this location. His feet will land on the land of Olives. It’s a pattern; it’s the way He will also come back.
5. “Number five, the Ascension gives believers access to God. In Hebrews 4:16, it says after the fact that Jesus is our priest in heaven, ‘let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace in help in time of need.’ Jesus’ ascension gives you boldness, gives you courage to come to the throne of grace. You can receive mercy, you can find favor and receive it in help in time of need. To have Jesus in heaven, the Holy Spirit living inside of us, gives us an extra boost, extra boldness to go to God in His name.
6. “Number six, the ascension of Christ guaranteed an enlarged ministry for the believers. John 14:12 says, ‘Most assuredly I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.’ He says because I’m going to My Father, you guys, My disciples—it’s kinda like we are the Elisha and Jesus is the Elijah—He paved the way. He paid the price for us. He redeemed us, but He also giving us His spirit, He’s giving us the double portion. He’s giving us a great ministry to reclaim the nations for Him. He says you will do greater works.
7. “Number seven, the ascension of Christ foreshadows our future ascension into heaven. In 1 Thessalonians 4:17, it says, ‘Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.’ So that means the same way Jesus was caught up to heaven in the cloud, we will also be caught up together to meet the Lord in the air in the clouds. How incredible is that? We will be the Lord always.”
For those reasons, Jesus’ ascension into heaven has a huge significance to our life and His ministry in heaven.
8. “Lastly, the ascension of Christ made room for us to be seated with Him. In Ephesians 2:6 it says, ‘And He raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.’ This is not speaking of the future, but of the past, meaning in Jesus we have been raised from the dead.”
This means that we are seated with Jesus in the heavenly places. That means Jesus is your identity, the identity of every Christian.
Isn’t it good to know that, as a Christian, these eight facts belong to you?
“Our identification with Jesus does not end with just the cross and the resurrection,” Savchuk says. “It continues to His exaltation.” {eoa}
Shawn A. Akers is the online editor at Charisma Media.
