Dear Christian friends:

Our text today tells about Jesus ascending into heaven. That happened forty days after Easter. Last Thursday was that day, Ascension Day. We celebrate Christmas and Easter very much, but few Christians celebrate Ascension. That is very strange, because what happened on Ascension Day is as wonderful and precious as what happened on Christmas and Easter.

Why do we celebrate Christmas and Easter more than Ascension? Maybe we celebrate Christmas and Easter for the wrong reasons, good eats, exchange of gifts and on Easter wearing new clothes and the beginning of Spring. How many are happy at Christmas because of Jesus' birth? How many are really happy at Easter because of Jesus' resurrection? About as many as are happy about His ascension, and that's not very many. If we had church here last Thursday to celebrate Jesus' ascension, how many of our members would come? Maybe fifteen or twenty.

While we may not value Jesus' ascension God does. In the Bible God celebrates Jesus' ascension as much as His birth and resurrection perhaps more. In Psalm 47 we read: "God is gone up with a shout, the Lord ascends with the sound of a trumpet. Sing praises to God sing praises: sing praises unto our King, sing praises. O clap your hands, all ye people shout unto God with the voice of triumph." Also the hymns in our hymnal for Ascension are happy, victory hymns, like the one our choir sang at the beginning of our worship.

So also here in our text we read about the disciples great joy when Jesus ascended. After He ascended "they went back to Jerusalem very happy. And they were always in the temple praising God." So let us attend to our text and by God's help try to receive the joy and victory of Jesus' ascension. Let us consider:

He ascends in glory as the Son of Man. Perhaps one reason why many do not value Jesus' ascension is that they think that was good and wonderful for Him, but not for themselves. They see Jesus' ascension only as the end of His shame and suffering and a day of personal honor and glory. They feel, "Christ finally went to heaven. That's fine. That's nice for Him. He deserves it. He's the Son of God. That's where He ought to go. But He's up there, and I'm still down here.

These people forget that everything Christ did on earth He did not for Himself, but for us. For us He left heaven and became a baby; for us He obeyed the Law perfectly; for us He suffered the punishment of sin by dying upon the cross; for us He arose from the dead and for us He ascended into heaven.

That is why we read in our text that the disciples after they saw Him ascend "went back to Jerusalem very happy" They would not be that happy if His ascension was only for Him and not for them. So we, too, in Psalm 47 are urged to praise God and be very, very happy about Jesus' ascension: "Sing praises to God, sing praises sing praises unto our King, sing praises. O clap your hands, all ye people, shout unto God with the voice of triumph."

We must not forget that Jesus ascends chiefly as the Son of Man; with our human body, with our flesh and blood, as our Brother. When the Jews complained and doubted that He was the Son of God from heaven, He asked them, "What will you say if you see the Son of Man ascend up where He was before?"

Jesus as a true Man now ascends into heaven. His ascension is our ascension, His victory is our victory; His glory is our glory; His Father is our Father; His everlasting home in heaven is our home. In John 14 Jesus says to all of us: "Let not your hearts be troubled, you believe in God believe also in Me. In my Father's house are many mansions I go to prepare a place for you and if I go and prepare a place for you and I will come again and receive you unto myself because where I live, there I want you to live also."

As Jesus has conquered sin, Satan and death and is now safe with God, so shall we conquer and win if we believe in Him. Surely we have good reasons to sing praises to our God and clap our hands and shout with the voice of triumph because of Jesus' ascension. In Him we have full salvation.

In the creed we say, "He ascended into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God." Jesus sitting at the right hand of God is joined with His ascension and is another reason why we rejoice today. To sit at God's right hand means He is crowned King and rules over heaven and earth. His kingdom is not earthly kingdoms. It is the kingdom of grace. His power is the power to forgive sins. That is the greatest power in the world. Great kings and rulers of the nations desire to free themselves and their friends from guilt and bad conscience, but with all their power they can't forgive one sin.

The rich man with all his money can't make himself free from shame and blame. Men try to forget their sins and feel free of blame by keeping busy: The artist paints; the soldier fights bravely; the student studies hard and long, but they can't free themselves from sin, shame and blame.

This great power God has give only to His Son who by His perfect life and innocent suffering and death won it. Paul says, "Jesus obeyed God even unto death, the death on the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him a name which is above every name; that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend in heaven, in earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:8-11)

This wonderful power and glory Jesus has given also to us His Church. After He rose from the dead, on Easter evening He appeared to His disciples and said unto them: peace be unto you: As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. When he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained. (John 20:21-22)

So Jesus our King rules through us over all the nations. We have the greatest power on earth the power to forgive sins by preaching the Gospel by Baptism and the Lord's Supper. We have an everlasting King and our everlasting Kingdom.

Surely Jesus' ascending into heaven and sitting at God's right hand gives us great comfort, joy and encouragement. Very often we feel that the church is weak and without power and that it will fail. The unbelievers seem greater and stronger and appear to win. That is because we do not believe what Jesus says. The power and glory of the unbelievers shall fail. Jesus says, "He that believes not shall be damned. He that believes and is baptized shall I save. (Mark 16:16)

If you believe in Jesus you are a member of the winning team. If you do not believe you are lost. Now is the time to confess our sins and to believe in Jesus. Let us not be discouraged in our work for Him, and let us do that more and more.

Amen.