Ascension Day Sermon

April 30, 2008

In the Name of the Risen and Ascended Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
We just had a wonderful celebration in honor of Pastor Lehman. This month we
will have the opportunity to honor two more groups of people—one being mothers
and the other veterans.
For Christians May is an important month for some other holiday observation. We
celebrate Pentecost, Trinity, and Ascension Day.

Most Christians are familiar with these days, but what if you were asked
their significance? Pentecost is still pretty important—after all that is the coming of
the Holy Spirit upon the church. Trinity is still significant, because it defines who
the true God is. But Ascension Day? The Day Jesus ascends into His heavenly glory
has kind of lost it’s luster. It is the forgotten “step sister” of church holidays.
Ascension Day doesn’t begin to compare with the big holidays of Christmas or
Easter. In fact, it doesn’t even make the second tier with Transfiguration or
Reformation. There are no gifts given to children on Ascension Day. We don’t get
days off work. Ascension Day falls in the middle of the week—it doesn’t even get it’s
own Sunday. Think about it, how many family members do you have visiting you
for Ascension Day? In fact, this is the first time since I’ve been here that PWC has
had an Ascension Day service.
Nonetheless, the Ascension of our Lord IS important. Because on this day
Jesus takes His rightful place—which is the right hand of the Father. Ascension Day
is important because of what it tells us about Jesus—and about us.
What Ascension Day Teaches us about Jesus.
Ascension Day teaches us in detail what we confess every Sunday—whether
it be in the Apostle’s or Nicene Creed—Namely that Jesus is seated at the right hand
of God the Father, and that He will come again in glory. Interesting that the
resurrection of Jesus receives one sentence in the creed—to be exact, nine words in
English; while the Ascension gets two sentences, a total of twenty seven words!

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What does it mean for Jesus to be seated at the right hand of the Father? The right
hand is not a location, but a designation. A designation of power and authority.
Think back to the OT story of Joseph—and how he rose to a position of power. He
was the most powerful person in the land—with the exception of Pharoah. As a sign
of this power, he was given Pharoah’s signet ring.
• By virtue of His death and resurrection Jesus shares the same glory, the same
power, the same authority as the Heavenly Father.
• We are told in 1 Peter 3:22 that all creation—including demons and angels
and all the company of heaven—are subject to Christ.
• The sign of His authority is not a signet rign on his finger, but rather the nail
prints that mark his hands and feet. On the cross He wore a crown of thors,
but now in heavenly Glory He wears the crown of splendor—marking Him
as the One who by His death is able to stamp out death forever.
Though Jesus ascended into heaven, He will one day return. This is the message of
the Angel—This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heave, will come in just
the same way as you have watched him go.”
This is the second essential point of Christ’s ascension—namely that He will return
again for judgment. Just as Jesus told of His crucifixion prior to it happening, so
too He foretold His Ascension and Second Coming. “For the Son of Man is going to
come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then recompense everyone
according to their deeds.” This is a fulfillment of the prophecy made in Daniel 7—
one that is repeated in Revelation 22.
The thought of the coming judgment should, on the one hand, terrify us.
And not just us—but all people! We have seen examples of what the judgment will
be like—
Atomic bombs dropped on Japan;
Sudden Tsunamis which wipe out thousands;
Planes crashing into buildings or millions killed and murdered be it by
disease or death squads.
But for as terrifying as this is—it is only a small taste of what it will be like in the
days before the last days. The punishment on sin will be sudden and total, as it was

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in the days of Noah, which we heard of this past Sunday. And this prospect should
in and of itself cause all people to repent. It won’t. But for those who HAVE
repented and been turned away from their sin and toward the savior Jesus Christ—
His second coming will not be terrifying, but rather comforting. Listen to these
words from Rev. 22—(read vs. 17, 20)
Like the first Christians who heard these words we can also say “Maranatha,
Come Lord Jesus” These are more than just words to pray prior to eating—rather
they are a plea that is on our lips at all times, eagerly awaiting and anticipating the
Return of the King. We do not fear that day, for though our deeds are sinful and we
deserve damnation, we have been covered by a far greater deed—The death of Jesus
on the cross—
Into which we have been baptized,
Under which we stand;
And through which we believe.

This, then leads us to the second point—what the Ascension teaches about us.
It reminds us of our own mortality—but that death is not the end. Jesus died and
rose again and ascended into heaven. The same pattern will be followed for all
people—We will die, we will rise again on the last day, and as believers we will
ascend into heaven. We can be certain of that—not due to our good works, but
solely because of Christ’s grace. Unbelievers, on the other hand, though dying and
rising, will DE scend into hell and eternal damnation. We can be just as certain of
this—which is the due recompense for evil deeds done in unbelief.
But for those who believe and are baptized, we will be with Jesus. We heard the
promise of Jesus from the Gospel of John just a few weeks ago—that He goes to
prepare a place for His disciples, and where He is, we shall be also. Stephen at his
martyrdom saw heaven opened to him. The same holds true for us.
We spend our lived putting a great deal of time, effort, and money into
having a nice place to live. We hire people to make repairs, we spend money on new
fashions and furnishings; we pay other people to take care of what we can’t or wont’
take care of ourselves. But I wonder, how much time, effort, and energy do we

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spend on preparing for our eternal home? Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us
—He is the contractor—the builder. But you might say that we are the interior
designers—for the works done in His Name, for His sake and that of others, will
provide the furnishings in which we will live.
Finally, the Ascension reminds us that for Christians, life is looking up. I knew a
Christian man who, when asked how he was doing, would always reply
“Wonderful”. For him, every day, no matter how difficult, was a good day. Because
it was lived in faith in Christ Jesus. That is true for us. We all have faced, and
perhaps even now are facing struggles and hardships that make our lives
challenging. But Christ has overcome our greatest problem—which is sin and
death. Because He has addressed our greatest need—will He not also provide all
things for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.
Yes He will. Yes, He does.
Have a blessed Ascension Day.
Amen.