Alan Lewis
Elon, North Carolina
February 2025
After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 “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.” (Acts 1:9-11 NIV)
We are studying the Book of Acts. We have been looking at Acts 1. There are four topics in Acts 1. There is the post-resurrection ministry of Jesus. There is the ascension. There is a church prayer meeting and a church business meeting. Today, we are going to talk about the ascension.
It is the first miracle in the Book of Acts. Acts is a book of miracles, and this is the first one. Many say the first miracle in the book is when Peter and John heal a lame man in the third chapter.
Actually, the first miracle is the ascension. In fact, there are not one or two miracles in this chapter. There are three supernatural events which take place in this chapter. What are they?
Three Supernatural Events
1) God shows up in a cloud
Clouds are not supernatural. They happen every day, but this was not a normal cloud. It was a special cloud. It was a giant cloud. It was not a rain cloud. It was a glory cloud.
It was not an earthly cloud. It was a heavenly cloud. In the OT, God manifested Himself in a cloud. He led the Israelites by a pillar of cloud by day. He manifested His presence in a cloud and this supernatural cloud suddenly appears on the mountain.
2) Jesus ascends into heaven
When the resurrection took place, Jesus left the grave. When the ascension took place, He left the earth. He is taken to heaven in glory.
He ascended into heaven. It took place on the Sabbath (Acts 1:12). Jesus entered into His rest on the Jewish day of rest, and they were shocked to see it take place.
Jesus says goodbye to his disciples. He blesses them and then He suddenly disappears. He is gone. They weren’t imagining it happening, like the skeptics say. They saw it happen right before their eyes.
They could not believe what they just saw. Their heads were stuck staring at the sky where Jesus went. This wasn’t something that happened every day.
Jesus is not on earth now. Not all Christians agree with that. Some think He is still on earth in communion. They think that the bread becomes Jesus’ actual body. No. The bread is a symbol. Jesus’ body is not on earth. It is Heaven.
3) The disciples see two angels
Two angels go on assignment and the disciples see them. Have any of you seen a real angel, other than your spouse? You get to see that angel every day.
Some of us have lived fifty or sixty years and have never seen one angel. These disciples saw two angels on this day and had a conversation with them.
These angels gave the disciples a little rebuke. That must have been embarrassing. If we have some guardian angels, and they appear to us, we would like them to come and encourage us or help us, not rebuke us.
It is hard enough when people rebuke us, but this was a rebuke by angels in the form of a question. The question was, “What are you staring up at the sky for? What are you doing? How many times would angels have to say that to us. “What are you doing?”
After the resurrection two angels showed up at the scene and the women were terrified. They bowed their faces to the ground. They might have been these same two angels. They rebuked the women also in the form of a question.
The woman showed up early at the tomb because they loved Jesus. They were devoted to Jesus. You have to give them some credit here. They were doing something that the men were not doing and yet the angels said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?” (Luke 24:5)
Biblical Accounts
Where does the Bible talk about the ascension? It is mentioned in three books of Scripture. It is mentioned in Mark 16; Luke 24 and Acts 1. Two NT writers describe the ascension (Mark & Luke). Let’s read the three verses on the ascension.
After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. (Mark 16:19 NIV)
When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. 51 While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. (Luke 24:50-51 NIV)
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.” 9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them.
11 “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.” (Acts 1:8-11 NIV)
Importance of the Ascension
The ascension is a subject that is overlooked in the church. It is neglected in the church today. We don’t talk about it too much. There are not too many sermons on the ascension. There are not too many books on the ascension.
There are plenty of sermons on death and the resurrection of Jesus. There are plenty of books on Jesus’ death and resurrection, but almost none on the ascension.
We celebrate Good Friday. We celebrate Easter. We turned them into holidays. Easter is so popular that people who are not even Christian celebrate it.
We don’t celebrate the ascension. We don’t celebrate Jesus leaving us. Easter this year is April 20, 2025. The ascension is forty days later, which this year would be on Friday, May 30, 2025.
Most of us recognize the significance of Jesus’ birth. We recognize the significance of His birth and His resurrection, but we do NOT see the significance of his ascension. Why is the ascension important?
1) The ascension was a day of EXALTATION
The Bible teaches that Jesus ascended into heaven but what happened after he ascended into heaven? Mark tells us. He was taken up into heaven and HE SAT AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD. (Mark 16:19 NIV)
The ascension gave Jesus a new position. Jesus was not just raised from the dead but exalted. The ascension led to an enthronement. In fact, he was not just exalted but HIGHLY EXALTED.
God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name (Philippians 2:9 NIV). He was placed in a position of ultimate power and authority in the universe above every name.
EXALTED to the RIGHT HAND OF GOD, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. 34 For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, “‘The Lord said to my Lord: “SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND.” (Acts 2:33-34 NIV)
Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—IS AT THE RIGHT HAND OF God and is also interceding for us (Romans 8:34 NIV)
That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him AT HIS RIGHT HAND in the heavenly realms, 21 FAR ABOVE all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed ALL THINGS under his feet and appointed him to be HEAD over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way. (Ephesians 1:19-22 NIV)
It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is AT GOD’S RIGHT HAND—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him. (I Peter 3:21-22 NIV)
The Right Hand of GodWhat does it mean that Jesus is at the right hand of God? What is so special about God’s right hand? Is God right-handed? If Jesus sits at the right hand of God, who sits on the left hand of God? Someone wrote a novel called The Left Hand of God (2010). What is the right hand of God? This is a Jewish idiom. It is a figure of speech. The Bible says that God is a spirit. He does not have a body. He does not have a literal hand. How do you sit on the right side of an invisible spirit? What does this mean? It is a metaphor for honor and power. It is a picture of omnipotence. Why would the right hand be a picture of power? Most people are right-handed. Their right hand is stronger than their left hand. It is their dominant hand. The dominant hand is stronger. After the miracle of the Red Sea, the Israelites sang, “Your right hand, Lord, was majestic in power. Your right hand, Lord, shattered the enemy” (Exodus 15:16 NIV) My own hand laid the foundations of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens; when I summon them (Isaiah 48:13 NIV) The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. (Hebrews 1:3 NIV) But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 and since that time he WAITS for his enemies to be made his footstool. (Hebrews 8:12-13 NIV) What does it mean that Jesus is sitting down at the right hand of God? Other people in the Bible ascended into heaven (Elijah, Enoch) but only Jesus sat down at the right hand of God. What does that mean? It means several things. To sit at God’s right hand means that Jesus is exalted. He is sitting on the divine throne in heaven. According to Philippians, He is highly exalted. To sit at God’s right hand means that Jesus is God. He sits down at the right hand of God in a position of equality with God. To sit at God’s right hand means that Jesus is powerful. He is seated above every power in the universe (every power and every authority). To sit at God’s right hand means that Jesus’ work is done. He is done His work, so he sits down, as Hebrews 1:3 says. It is a picture of completion. |
2) The ascension was a day of POWER
Jesus is not just exalted to a more powerful position. Because of the ascension, Jesus sits at the right hand of the power of God (Luke 22:69 ESV), but we are given power was well because of the ascension. Jesus said that we would get power when the Holy Spirit came on us (Acts 1:8).
He did not say that we would get power to heal the sick, speak in tongues or raise the dead, although the Holy Spirit can bring that power as well. Jesus said that power would come on us and we will be His WITNESSES.
He said we would get power when the Holy Spirit comes on us and we get the Holy Spirit after Jesus ascends into heaven. Jesus had to ascend into heaven for us to get the Holy Spirit. He had to ascend into heaven for us to get power and to get help.
The Holy Spirit is called our Comforter or our Helper in some translations (παράκλητος). That may not be how we think of the Holy Spirit but that is what Jesus called Him. Why is the Spirit called the Helper? Because we all need help. We need supernatural help. We need divine help.
Jesus also said, “If I go not away, the Comforter will NOT come unto you; but if I go, I will send him unto you” (John 16:7 ASV)
But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me (John 15:26 KJV)
On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified. (John 7:37-39 NIV)
The coming of the Holy Spirit was CONDITIONED on Jesus leaving earth. Jesus had to leave earth for this to take place. If he did not go back to heaven, the Holy Spirit would not have come.
Jesus went back to Heaven, so we could get some help. We need to be comforted. We need to be encouraged. We live in a wicked world. It is a dark place.
Jesus said, “It is good that I am going away.” It is to our advantage. It is better that He go than stay.
Jesus said, “But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you” (John 16:7 NIV)
Why is it better if Jesus is gone? Wouldn’t it have been better if Jesus stayed alive on earth? Could anything be better than having Jesus physically on earth with us? HS CAN COME AND DWELL WITHIN US
It is better to have the Holy Spirit living on the inside. It is better to have the Spirit on the inside, rather than having Jesus on the outside. If we have the Spirit, we have Jesus with us. He is called the Spirit of Christ (Acts 16:7; Galatians 4:6).
Without the ascension, we would not have the Spirit. We would not have the church. Jesus would not be the head of the church. Some think the head of the church is on earth. It is not. The head of the church is in heaven.
3) The ascension was a day of PROMISE
What is the promise? 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. (Acts 1:11 NIV)
There’s good news and there is bad news. The bad news is that Jesus is leaving. The disciples won’t see Him again on earth. The good news is that He’s coming back. We know three things about this return from Acts.
First, the SAME JESUS coming again. It will not be a different Jesus.
Second, He is coming back to earth the SAME WAY that He left. We will see that that means.
Third, He will return in the SAME PLACE. The same spot He left is the same spot He will return. He left on the Mount of Olives and is going to return on the Mount of Olives, according to Zechariah.
Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights on a day of battle. 4 On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem (Zechariah 14:3-4 NIV).
Three Promises from the Ascension
1. Jesus will return bodily
His spirit did not just ascend in spirit, while his body stayed on earth for another fifty years. No, his body went up, up and away and after that the disciples never saw him again on earth. There were no more appearances. He ascended bodily and will return bodily.
2. Jesus will return visibly
Not only did Jesus ascend but the disciples saw him ascend. They saw it happen in real time. They were eyewitnesses.
They didn’t get to see the resurrection, but they get to see the ascension. The resurrection was a secret event. The ascension was a public event. This took place outside in public. He ascended visibly and will return visibly.
Some say when Jesus returns, it will be a spiritual coming. It will be invisible. The Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that Jesus came back in 1914, but nobody saw Him.
Seventh Day Adventists believe that the Second Coming is spiritual. How He ascended and that is not how He will return. The Bible says that when he returns, “every eye will see him” (Revelation 1:7 NIV). Not just some people will see him, but EVERY EYE will see Him.
3. Jesus will return powerfully
He ascended with angels present. He will return with angels present. “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne (Matthew 24:31 NIV)
He ascended into a cloud. We are told that “a cloud received Him out of their sight.” (Acts 1:9 NIV). Jesus left in a cloud and is coming back in a cloud. Jesus said that Son of Man would come on the clouds with power and great glory (Matthew 24:31).
