Dear Christian friends:

When a dear friend says, "Goodbye," and then leaves we feel sad and depressed, especially if we know that we will not see that person again here on earth. But when Jesus left His disciples and went up to heaven they did not feel sad or depressed. Our text says that they returned to Jerusalem from Bethany with great joy. (verse 52) The disciples were very happy about Jesus' ascension into heaven.

We, too, should have great joy because Jesus has ascended into heaven. Why? Our text tells us why.


Jesus' ascension into heaven gives us much joy because it shows that His saving work is finished, perfect.

Before He left them and went up to heaven Jesus said to His disciples, "I have finished doing all the things Moses and the prophets and David wrote about Me." (verse 44) Jesus did the work God sent Him to do and He did it perfectly as the prophets wrote that the Christ should do it.

God sent Jesus to obey the law for us. Jesus did that perfectly. He never sinned! Not once! Jesus won perfect righteousness for us and for all people.

God also sent Jesus to suffer the punishment of all people's law-breaking. On the cross God punished Jesus, not us. We really deserved that terrible punishment. We are the law-breakers, the sinners, not Jesus. But God loved us and showed mercy to us, and Jesus, His Son, also loved us. They wanted to save us from that punishment. They agreed to let Jesus become a Man and suffer that punishment in man's place. On the cross Jesus did that and finished that. Before He died Jesus said, "It is finished!" Jesus finished His saving work and now He can go home to heaven and receive His glory and crown and rule.

We, therefore, rejoice because Jesus ascends into heaven. It shows that His saving work is finished and that God the Father accepts His work as perfect and precious. We are saved! Our sins are all taken away! Now the holy God sees us in Jesus as holy and perfect people. "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" (2 Corinthians 5:17) "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:21) We are new, holy people! Jesus' ascension proves that.

We also have much joy today because Jesus' ascension means that He lets us stay here on earth to preach the Good News of Salvation.

Jesus said to his disciples before He ascended, "In the Scriptures we read that Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things." (verses 46-48)

When Jesus ascended into heaven He did not take the disciples with Him. Why? He left them behind here on earth to go and preach "repentance and forgiveness of sins in His name to all nations." Jesus chose these disciples and honored them by letting them do this most precious work. These first disciples felt honor and rejoiced because Jesus let them do His work here on earth.

We are Jesus' disciples today. We are His new creation, His holy people through our faith in Him. We, the same as the first disciples, have much joy because Jesus gives us His work to do here on earth. He has ascended into heaven. He does not preach anymore. He is depending on us to preach the Good news now.

And Jesus makes us able to do that work, same as He enabled the first disciples to do it. Jesus said to them, "I will send you the One My Father promised. Wait in the city until you receive power from heaven." (verse 49) Jesus means that He will send the Holy Spirit to them when He ascends up into heaven. The Holy Spirit will give them understanding, faith and joy in Jesus. Then they will have inspiration, eagerness and courage to preach, teach, baptize and make disciples of all nations.

Today we rejoice also because Jesus has ascended into heaven and is sitting at God's right hand. There He continues to send the Holy Spirit to our hearts through His Word, so that we can be inspired, brave, and eager to preach repentance and forgiveness of sins to all nations. In the Epistle Lesson for today Paul says that the same power which God used to raise Jesus from death and let Him ascend into heaven to be the Ruler over all, that same power is working in our hearts and lives and is leading us to do Jesus’ work on earth. Wonderful! (Ephesians 1:19-20) Let us hear Jesus' Word regularly so that we can be inspired to do His work!

Notice that Jesus told His disciples that they should begin preaching the Good News "at Jerusalem." This means they were to preach to the Jews first, and then to the other nations, the Gentiles.

Who is preaching the Good News to the Jewish deaf in the Los Angeles area? You know there are many Jewish deaf here. How many believe in Jesus? Not many! Who will tell them about Jesus, if we don't? Have you ever told a Jewish deaf person that Jesus is the Christ promised in their Old Testament Scriptures? We should be showing the Jewish deaf what Jesus says here in our text. Jesus says that He is the Christ, the Yeshua, of the Old Testament Scriptures. Jesus says, "These are My words I spoke to you, while I was with you, that all things written about Me must happen exactly, all things written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and Psalms." (verse 44) We must tell the Jewish deaf, "Don't wait for another Christ. Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ, your Yeshua!"

True, if we witness to the Jewish deaf, some will feel displeased and insulted. They will say that we do not respect their religion. But that should not stop us. Jesus has commanded us to preach the Good News to the Jews first. We, the members of Pilgrim Lutheran Church, have that opportunity. Jesus ascension into heaven can give us the inspiration and the joy and the power and the wisdom to do it. Jesus promises to be with us and bless our witnessing. He also promises that we will face some opposition and trouble when we do that. But He comforts us and says, "In this world you will have trouble. But have courage! I have defeated the world." (John 16:33) Let us rejoice in Jesus' ascension!

Amen.