He Went Up Into Heaven

Why do you stand here looking into the sky?

Two angels asked this question to the eleven disciples.

Surely, the angels were aware of what had just happened. So, what was the purpose of their question?

Were the angels causing the disciples to reflect on what they had just seen? Were they calling them back to earth? Perhaps they were challenging them to get on with the work at hand. Or was it something altogether different?

Most of us are familiar with the events of the Crucifixion of the Lord Jesus and his Resurrection on the third day. Fewer may be familiar with the Ascension on the 40^th day.

What did happen on the 40^th day, and what is its significance?

This post will highlight some of the key features of the Ascension and explain why it is important. In turn, this will introduce you to several remarkable aspects of our age that are often overlooked or misunderstood.

Let’s begin by reading Luke’s report of this incident.

The Event

Luke opens his second volume (Acts) with a brief overview of his first volume (the Gospel according to Luke) (Acts 1:1-2):

In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen.

 This is followed by another summary of the 40 days following the Lord’s resurrection (1:3):

After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.

Luke then continues with his meticulous reporting of the scene leading up to the Ascension (1:4-11):

On one occasion, while [Jesus] was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”  

So when they met together, they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them.

“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

Now, let’s identify some aspects of this text.

Some observations

Here are five basic observations drawn from this and related texts:

1. Appearances:

Although Luke only mentions that Jesus (after his death by crucifixion) “appeared to them over a period of forty days” (1:3), we have reports of some of these appearances. Here are eleven of them:

• Mary Magdalene (John 20:11-18);
• Women returning from the tomb (Matthew 28:9-10);
• The two on the Road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-31);
• Appearance to Peter (Luke 24:34; 1 Corinthians 15:5);
• To ten of the disciples without Thomas (John 20:19-25);
• One week later, to the eleven with Thomas (John 20:26-29);
• With the disciples on the shores of the Sea of Tiberias (Galilee) (John 21:1-14);
• To the eleven on a mountain (Matthew 28:16-20);
• To more than 500 brethren (1 Corinthians 15:6);
• Appearance to James, “and then to the Twelve” (1 Corinthians 15:7); and,
• The disciples at the Ascension (Luke 24:50-51; Acts 1:6-11);

2. Proofs:

These appearances involved hearing, seeing, and touching Jesus. He even ate with them (Luke 24:36-43; Acts 1:4). These are some of the “many convincing proofs that he was alive” (Acts 1:3).

3. Kingdom of God:

Jesus “spoke about the kingdom of God” (1:3), although he did not provide “times or dates” of its full manifestation (1:4). He continued with (1:8),

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

The baptism in the Spirit was to occur ten days later (2:1-13), when they would receive the power to be witnesses of Christ throughout the world.

4. Taken up:

In a simple statement, the Lord Jesus (1:9):

Was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

Jesus Christ was visibly, physically, and publicly taken up. Luke 24:51 puts it in these terms:

While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven.

We cannot locate this “heaven” geographically within the created universe. Millard Erickson states:

One cannot get to God simply by traveling sufficiently far and fast in a space vehicle of some kind. God is in a different dimension of reality, and the transition from here to there requires not merely a change of place, but of state.[1]

5. Promised return:

The two angels declare that:

This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

This repeats the promise of Jesus given in the Farewell Address (John 14:3) and elsewhere.

Jesus Christ will return “in the same way,” meaning visibly, physically, and publicly.

The Significance

With the Ascension, the eternal Son returns to His Father, but now He is perpetually human as well as divine.

Several amazing promises were set in motion by the Ascension of Jesus Christ, including:

• The sending of the Holy Spirit.

• The physical return of Jesus Christ.

We also become aware that the Ascension marked the inauguration of Jesus Christ in at least two vital positions:

• His enthronement at the right hand of his Father in the position of authority and active rule (Acts 2:32-36).

• His installation as our great high priest (Hebrews 7:11-28).

How are these promises and positions significant and relevant to you?

These and other questions will be explored in the coming posts.

FORWARD TO the next post in this series

BACK TO “Living the Resurrection as a Present Reality”

Notes:

[1] Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology, 3^rd ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2013), 710f.

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