Understanding the Ascension

In John 20:17 Mary Magdalene does something that is totally understandable and relatable; when she sees the risen Lord she falls on her face in worship and grabs Christ’s feet in loving devotion (cf. Mt 28:19). In her mind, she had lost Christ once already and she didn’t want to ever let go of him again. What Mary did not know is that Jesus could not stay with her, at least not bodily. He made that clear to her in his response: 

Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” (John 20:16–17, ESV)

Jesus could not remain with Mary and the disciples because he had to ascend into heaven. Jesus wanted Mary to understand this. He was leaving that very moment, but he was using that moment as a teaching opportunity to prepare her for his bodily departure. Mary could not have anticipated the importance of the ascension, but she was going to need to grasp it in the very near future. 

Like Mary Magdalene, I think there are probably a lot of Christians that do not understand the importance of the Ascension of Christ. That is a shame because the Bible says quite a bit about it. Specifically, based on all that Scripture says about it, there are at least three theological affirmations that we can make about the Ascension of Christ. 

First, the Ascension is a Historical Event. In other words, the ascension is an actual event that took place in time and space with actual witnesses. It is not a spiritualized idea, a mystical adoration, or a mythical fable. The body of Christ was actually transferred from earth to heaven. In a number of places, the Bible explicitly teaches that this is what literally happened:  

• Luke 24:50-53: And he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God.

• Acts 1:6-9: So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.

• 1 Peter 3:21-22: …  through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.

• Hebrews 1:3: He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.

This, by the way, is a historical event that Christ predicted would happen during his earthly ministry (cf., Jn 6:62; 14:12; 16:28; cf., Mt 26:64). Additionally, this was an event that was made necessary by the incarnation. Jesus’ humanity did not end at the cross, it continues to this day in resurrected form. In the Old Testament when the Eternal Word appeared as the Angel of the Lord he was able to disappear back into heaven because the form that was seen by the recipients of revelation was merely an appearance of his personhood. In the incarnation, however, the Son assumed a human nature—including a body—that remains with him to this day. Christ couldn’t just disappear back into heaven, he had to be “taken up” in bodily form. This gets to the heart of the ascension, which we can define in this way: 

The Ascension is a visible and bodily transfer of Christ according to his human nature from earth into heaven, where he is seated at the right hand of the Father in glory as the Great High Priest of all the redeemed.

The second theological affirmation that we can make about the Ascension is that it is a Heavenly Exaltation.  In other words, Jesus’s body was taken up to heaven in such a way that he received the glory that is due to him as the Redeemer. Consider the following passages:

• Acts 2:33: Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.

• Acts 5:31: God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.

• Ephesians 1:19-23: and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

• 1 Timothy 3:16: Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.

• Hebrews 10:12: But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God ….

One way of looking at the ascension is that it is the Father’s answer to Jesus’s prayer to be returned to his visible/heavenly glory: 

• John 17:5: And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

Another way of viewing the ascension is that it is the heavenly fulfillment of Phil 2:10: 

• Philippians 2:10–11: “so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

When Jesus returns to this earth, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that he is Lord. We can look forward to that day knowing that it has already happened in heaven (cf. Matt 6:10). In this way, the ascension is a holy motivation for believers to endure in faith in pursuit of glory:

• Philippians 3:20-21: But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

• Hebrews 12:1-2: Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

The third theological affirmation that we can make about the Ascension is that it is a Saving Work. In other words, the Ascension is one of the works that our Savior performs so that we can be reconciled to God and share in the fellowship of his holiness. In this respect, the ascension was foretold in the OT (Ps 110:1) and it was required in order to accomplish salvation (Acts 3:21).

• Psalm 110:1: The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”

• Acts 3:19-21: Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago.

If Christ was still on the earth and never ascended ascended into heaven we wouldn’t have a complete salvation from sin because we would not have a priest/mediator in heaven:

• Hebrews 8:4: Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law.

The NT teaches that there are specific applications/benefits of salvation that come thru the ascension:

• Our reception of the Holy Spirit to indwell every saved person depends on the ascension (Jn 7:39; Jn 16:7);

• Our ongoing intercession for sin depends on Christ’s ascension into heaven as priest (Rom 8:34; Heb 4:14; 9:24);

• Our heavenly blessings/status depend on our union with an ascended/heavenly Savior (Eph 1:3; 2:6; Rev 3:21);

• Our present spiritual gifts that make church ministry and body life possible required the ascension (Eph 4:8);

• Our hope of the Second Coming of Christ and his earthly reign depend on the ascension (Acts 1:11).

Calvin summarized it well in his commentary on John 20:17: “The Lord, by his ascension to heaven, has opened up access to the heavenly kingdom, which Adam had shut."With all this in mind, it is no wonder that Jesus was preparing Mary for his departure; he had to ascend to the Father in order to secure salvation for his people.