He Passed Through the Heavens | Luke 24:44-53 & Hebrews 4:14-5:10 | The Ascension of Jesus
The ascension of Jesus Christ is one of the most practically significant — and most neglected — doctrines in the Christian faith. We confess it in the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed, but for many believers it functions as little more than a transitional fact: Jesus rose, then He left, now we wait.
This week's sermon from Luke 24:44–53 and Hebrews 4:14–5:10 challenges that assumption. When Jesus ascended, the disciples didn't grieve — they returned to Jerusalem with great joy. Why? Because they had come to understand that His departure was not a loss but an accomplishment. The cross and the empty tomb were not detours; they were destinations. And the ascension was the plan all along.
Drawing from Hebrews, we also see that Jesus ascended not only as our King but as our great High Priest — the perfect, once-for-all sacrifice who now serves as our Mediator before God the Father. Unlike the priests of the old covenant who had to offer sacrifices repeatedly (and for their own sins as well), Jesus offered Himself once and now intercedes for His people continually. Our prayers are not spoken into the void. They are heard because the one who knows our weakness, who was tempted in every way yet without sin, is the one who brings them before the Father.
The ascension assures us that Christ is active right now — reigning over history, interceding for His people, and preparing to return. When the world feels out of control, He is King. When you struggle with sin, you have an Advocate. When you pray, you are heard.
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Thank you for joining us for this week's sermon from First Reformed Church in Edgerton, Minnesota. Each week we dig into God's Word, trusting that the Holy Spirit will continue the good work of sanctification in us.
When someone we love dies, we feel great depth of sorrow in us because of their absence. But when it really sinks in for us that they are gone is at holidays and other big events in our lives. Christmas just isn't the same without Grandma getting excited about the young kids opening their presents. Dad is missed, or Grandpa is missed, when he's not there to say that table prayer at Thanksgiving. And you see the sentiment of what I'm talking about at weddings as couples will display photos of their deceased grandparents with a message to the effect of, "We're missing them in heaven." And some families may even initially leave a place at the table unoccupied at the first big holiday after the loss of a loved one. And it's a way that they acknowledge their continued presence with them even in their absence. And I'm not talking about some strange spiritual or mystical way as I think of this. I'm thinking about the way that it acknowledges their loved one's continued influence and legacy. Even though they're gone, the stamp that they have left on the family will remain for generations.
And I think we can easily get sucked into this way of thinking when it comes to how we think about the absence of Jesus from us. Now, we fully understand, we fully embrace his resurrection. We understand that he is not dead, but we aren't really sure how to think about his absence from us. We know He's alive, but He isn't here. We're also fully aware that He ascended into heaven. It's in the Bible. We confess it in both the Nicene and the Apostles' Creeds. We aren't sure what exactly we're supposed to do with the ascension. So, we might treat the absence of the Lord of glory, our crucified and resurrected King, in much the same way we treat the absence of someone else. And we focus on the fact of his legacy and influence. And of course, those things are infinitely important. But as you've likely heard me say before, it is essential that we understand that Jesus isn't just sitting in heaven twiddling His thumbs waiting until he returns at the end of history. Jesus is ascended, and he's at the right hand of the Father where he is actively ruling and reigning as our King. And he is also actively interceding for us as our great High Priest. And both of the passages that we read this morning indicate to us the significance of the Lord's ascension.
In the case of the passage from Luke's Gospel, we see how important the ascension is in the way that the disciples react to it. Now, we know the story, but I want us to consider the story of the Gospel from the perspective of the disciples for a few minutes. Jesus chose them. They spent 3 years with him as he taught in various parts of Galilee. And they didn't fully understand all that he was teaching and everything that he was doing, but they left everything to follow Jesus. They believed him to be the Messiah. And that meant for them that they believed that his mission was overthrowing the Romans that occupied their land. And that this Messiah would reestablish the nation of Israel to its former glory.
Well, in the third year of the ministry of Jesus, the disciples headed to Jerusalem like they always did for the feasts, for the celebration of the Passover. But that year, something was different. The fame of Jesus had spread, and more than just those 12 guys, the disciples, who followed Him every day, had started to believe that He was the Messiah. And as He rode into the city on a donkey and the people greeted Him, they did so in the same way that their ancestors had greeted conquering heroes in the past. They threw cloaks on the ground. They grabbed palm branches. And for Jesus, they chanted Messianic psalms. Those words indicated that those people believed Him to be the Messiah.
Well, when the hope that these people had of Jesus displacing the Romans from their land didn't happen, the people who had been singing praises to Him on Sunday, by Friday were asking for Him to be crucified. They sided with the religious leaders who had been wanting to get rid of Him anyway. And He is executed. Like a common criminal. And those disciples, well, one betrayed Jesus. Another denied Him. And the rest of them deserted Him. On Friday, there was hopelessness. But resurrection came on Sunday. And then hope was restored. Jesus was not dead. He was alive. And hundreds saw Him over the course of those 40 days.
And so when we arrive here at the end of Luke and Jesus gathers them, you have to wonder what's going through the minds of the disciples. What are they thinking? I mean, seriously, if you're hoping for the overthrow of the Romans and even a torturous death on a cross can't stop the guy you believed in, the Messiah, you had to feel completely unstoppable, right? How emboldened would the disciples have been after the resurrection. But here we come to the end of the book of Luke, and it isn't a strategy meeting for the overthrow of Roman authorities. Instead, he blesses them. He parts from them and then is carried into heaven. And as cool of an image that that might conjure up in our heads, you would think that this would be a substantial letdown for people who have been expecting and hoping for a revolution.
But look at their reaction here in verse 52. They worship Jesus and return to Jerusalem with great joy. Now, the last time that someone you love left you and they were going to be gone for an indefinite amount of time, were you filled with great joy? No. You likely shed a tear. I'm guessing the goodbye took longer than intended as well because you lingered with your loved one for as long as possible. The reaction we see here by the followers of Jesus is incomprehensible to us. Unless we realize that they had come to understand that Jesus was more than a political revolutionary. They came to understand that Jesus was not just someone who had come to give them tips for living their best life.
They must have understood that the ascension was the plan all along. And Jesus leaving was accomplishing the purposes of God. And as you consider this, I want you to think about what you know of what the disciples did in the book of Acts. They didn't go around the land recruiting rebels to fight battles against the Romans, did they? They also didn't go from town to town telling people to be nicer. They proclaimed Christ and Him crucified, resurrected, and ascended.
And if we back up in the text, if we move up to verses 45 and 46, we see that the Lord had opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. They came to grips with the fact that the Messiah's mission wasn't to overthrow earthly kingdoms. It was to suffer and rise from the dead. The cross and the empty tomb weren't a detour. They were destinations. They were not bumps in the road. They were the plan all along. And the same is true of the ascension. It's not just a place for Jesus to be in the meantime. Jesus suffered. He died. He rose again and is now reigning at the Father's right hand. And this is why the disciples have great joy even though their Lord and their friend has departed from them.
But they also understand that they have work to do. They are messengers of the Kingdom. They are doing more than telling people about the things that Jesus had to say. They are heralds of the gospel. They are proclaiming that he is the Savior that was promised all the way back in the garden, the one who fulfills the Law and the Prophets, the one who is victorious over sin, death, and hell.
And as we consider what this means, we slide into the 4th chapter of Hebrews where we are reminded that Jesus is more than our ascended King, he is also our ascended great High Priest. So, the author of Hebrews is writing to first-century Jews who are considering leaving their faith in Christ to return to the old covenant sacrificial system. And we can kind of understand why they would do this when we think about it. These early Christians are being persecuted for their faith. And on top of that, the sacrificial system that they were used to was something tangible. They went to the feasts. They went to a particular city, Jerusalem. They tasted the food at the feasts. They brought an animal to be sacrificed. They saw the priests with their eyes who were doing the sacrifice. They could see the animals, the priests, the temple — all tangible things. They could hear the bleating of the animals as they were having their throats cut. They could probably even smell the blood in the air. The Old Covenant system was tangible.
They were done with the feast. They would go home, and they would know that they had done all the things that were required of them in the law. And as jarring as the idea of animal sacrifice is for us as 21st century people, I think we can still understand the appeal of having things to do to make us feel like we're good with God. How nice would it be to have a checklist, and if we did those things, we felt confident in our relationship to God? I went to Jerusalem for the feast. I did all of it like I was supposed to. I brought an animal. The animal is sacrificed. I went home. I'm good to go. We can understand the appeal of that.
But there was a problem. There was a problem with the sacrificial system. It never fully checked off any of the boxes. Because you had to go through the rituals over and over. Yeah, maybe you went to Passover that year and you checked all the boxes, but you knew you had to go again the next year. The sacrifices were taking place over and over in the temple because the blood that was being shed was just a stand-in. The animals that were being sacrificed hadn't offended a holy God by rebelling against Him. Not only that, but the priests themselves needed the sacrifices for their sins. The old covenant was not the final answer. It was a place filler. A type and a shadow of what we really needed to have in order to have forgiveness of our sins.
Because as fallen, rebellious sinners, we can't go before God on our own. He is holy and we are not. And this is why the old covenant system had mediators between God and man. The priests would bring the blood of the sacrifices into the temple, and that blood was a substitute for the blood of humans who had sinned against God. But again, the problem with the whole system of sacrifice was self-apparent. The continued need for sacrifice and the fact that even the high priest, even that mediator, needed a sacrifice for his sins drew out that the system was incomplete. It wasn't the final answer.
And the author of Hebrews wants us to be aware that Jesus is our great High Priest, ascended as our mediator, and he put an end to that treadmill of sacrifices, that never-ending system. Jesus stopped it all. He was sufficient. He was the true sacrifice for the sins of his people. And now we are able to go before God and know that we are heard by him because our mediator was also our sacrifice in our own flesh. The price paid for you and I was not the death of an animal, but the sinless Son of God. And we read that he is able to sympathize with our weaknesses because he was one of us. He was tempted in every way but didn't sin. He is our perfect, sinless sacrifice.
And because of this, the author of Hebrews tells us to draw near to the throne of grace that we might receive mercy and find grace in our time of need. You see, when we pray, we are not merely speaking into the void. We are not just uttering words to a random deity out there somewhere in the ether. Our prayers are heard because the Lord Jesus Christ, our ascended Priest and King, is our mediator. And this truth gives us confidence that our sins are forgiven, our prayers are heard, and that our King is in control. It is all because of what Jesus has done and is doing for us.
Jesus is not just a vacant seat at our table whose legacy remains in those who remember him fondly. The cross assures us of our salvation. The resurrection assures us of the promise of eternal life and the resurrection of our bodies. The ascension assures us that Christ is active for us now as our mediator and King who will come again to judge the living and the dead.
The doctrine of the ascension is kind of a forgotten doctrine in much of Christianity. But as we have seen in what it means, it is unbelievably practical for us. When the world seems out of control for you, when you look at things happening in the world and it seems unjust, know that Christ is King and He reigns. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. When you find yourself struggling with sin, turn to Christ in repentance and faith knowing that you have forgiveness because of His sacrificial and atoning work. And now, as one who understands temptation yet did not sin, He is your mediator and your advocate in the presence of God the Father. When you are experiencing difficult times, know that the one who guarantees that your prayers are heard is the one who suffered himself. And that while you pray, he is your mediator to God the Father.
The Lord Jesus Christ, God the Son, not only did all those things for you in the past, he is right now alive, and he is doing that work for you, his people. So find confidence in this truth. It may bring you joy like it brought joy to the disciples. And most of all, may it give you the peace that passes all understanding, and may it guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Let us pray. Great and merciful God, we praise you for the gift of your Word, that in it you tell us of all of the work of Jesus for us. And we thank you that the ascension shows us that it isn't just work that was done for us in the past, it is work that Jesus is doing right now for us. In this moment, as we pray, in our flesh, He hears us and he brings our prayers to the Father. Thank you for this gift, and we pray that this would give us confidence that he reigns and that our prayers are heard and that our sins are forgiven. It's in the name of Jesus that we pray. Amen.
Thank you for joining us for this week's sermon. For more information about First Reformed Church, head to our Facebook page or website, edgertonfrc.org.
Christ is not an absent Lord. He reigns. He intercedes. He hears. If this sermon encouraged you or raised questions you'd like to explore further, we invite you to browse our sermon archive or learn more about the ascension of Christ and what it means for you today.
