5 Crucial Reasons Not to Neglect the Ascension

3 days ago 17

A few years ago, I started listening to audiobooks. One thing immediately noticeable with audiobooks is you end up stopping at odd junctures. I used the program when I was in the car, when I exercised, or when I got ready for the day. When that specific task was finished, it was time to hit pause.

This differs from reading a physical book, where typically a more natural ending point exists. With audiobooks, the hiatus might come at a key moment. I remember listening to the book Ready Player One. I pulled up to our house right when the protagonist said, “And then we all died.”

The same thing can happen when we summarize the story of the Scriptures. We too can regularly hit the pause button on the scriptural story before key events occur. A focus on certain aspects can come at the expense of others.

Usually, when I hear a gospel summary, I hear people mention Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection. Rarely do I hear a whisper about the ascension. At times, evangelicals have focused on the cross and the resurrection to the point that the ascent of Christ has been overshadowed. As Peter Orr states, “Christians have tended to focus their attention on what Jesus has done (his life, death and resurrection) and what he will do (return and reign).”¹ Studies on what Christ is doing now or what happened after the resurrection are relatively rare.

However, if the ascension resolves the narrative, if it confirms Christ’s authority, if it is a vital step to bring the story full circle, if it is central to Christ’s work and to trinitarian theology, then we need to embrace it and teach it often. We cannot, we must not, abandon the ascension.

Here I provide five crucial reasons not to neglect the ascension.

1. The New Testament’s theology is built upon the ascension

Though Scripture narrates the ascension in only seven verses, and the Greek word for “ascent” does not occur in the New Testament, these details can be misleading. Verbs that describe the ascension are plentiful. Consistently, terms occur in reference to Jesus’s ascent:

“To go up”: John 3:13; 6:62; 20:17; Acts 2:34; Eph 4:8–10
“to go away”: Luke 24:51; John 7:33; 8:14, 21; 13:33; 14:4; 16:5, 7, 10, 17
“to go into”: Heb 6:20; 9:12, 24
“to go through”: Heb 4:14
“to go”: John 14:2, 12, 28; 16:7, 28; 1 Pet 3:22
“to be taken up”: Luke 24:51; Acts 1:2, 9, 11, 22; 1 Tim 3:16
“to sit”: Eph 1:20; Heb 1:4; 8:1; 10:12; 12:2
“to be exalted”: Heb 7:26

In addition, references to the repercussions of the ascension are ubiquitous in the New and Old Testaments.² Though the specific word “ascent” does not occur, the idea of exaltation and triumph is pervasive. All of what is written in the New Testament stems from the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus.

The ascension in the Gospels

While Luke alone directly narrates the ascension (Luke 24:50–53), this does not mean the other Gospels do not teach it.

In Matthew’s passion narrative, Jesus predicted the event: “You will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven” (Matt 26:64).³ More notably, the end of Matthew contains two clear clues of Matthew’s acknowledgment of the ascension (28:16–20). First, the command to go to all nations in Matthew 28:16–20 mirrors the command in Luke 24:47, which connects Jesus’s instructions to his ascent. Second, readers attuned to the Old Testament will perceive that Matthew indirectly refers to the ascension in Jesus’s last words: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matt 28:18). This alludes to Daniel 7:13–14, which recounts the ascent of the Son of Man.

Mark’s ending is no different, though he shocks and surprises. He intentionally leaves readers wondering what will come after the resurrection, which in its own way anticipates a further act (Mark 16:8).

John’s Gospel contains the most references to the ascension. The fourth Gospel emphasizes the Son’s unique relation to the Father and how he came from him and will return to him. Six times Jesus references going to the Father (John 14:9, 12, 28; 16:10, 17, 28), four times he makes reference to his ascent (1:51; 3:13; 6:62; 20:17), once to departing to the Father (13:1), and once to leaving the world and going to the Father (16:28). All of these naturally point to the ascension weighing heavily on John’s mind.

The ascension in Acts & the rest of the New Testament

The rest of the New Testament “thinks and speaks from this point, with a backward reference” to the ascension of Jesus Christ, as Karl Barth puts it.⁴ The New Testament writings were birthed from the revelation and confirmation of Jesus’s work.

One of the surest markers of the ascension in the epistles involves the titles most often attributed to Jesus: Lord and Messiah. These became the designations all the New Testament authors use for describing Jesus. Because he had been enthroned, he was now recognized as the “Lord Jesus” or “Jesus the Lord,” and many times just “Lord” (Acts 2:36). His new name was Lord and Messiah because he had been properly exalted.⁵

Other references to Christ’s ascent are peppered across the epistles. Paul brings the resurrection and ascension together in 1 Corinthians 15. Twice in the passage following 15:1–2, he alludes to Christ’s ascent by referring to Christ’s present reign over every power and authority and reigning until he has put all his enemies under his feet (15:24–25).⁶

Overall, the ascension looms large in the epistles:

In 2 Corinthians, Paul speaks of the judgment seat of Christ, implying Jesus currently sits on the throne (2 Cor 5:10).
Ephesians largely concerns Christ’s triumph and continually references how he is seated in the heavenly places (Eph 1:20; 2:6; 4:8–11).
Philippians centers on Christ’s ascent in the famous hymn, where it briefly recounts Christ’s humiliation and exaltation (Phil 2:5–11).
Colossians compels readers to seek the things above, “where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God” (Col 3:1).
1 Timothy 3:16 recounts Christ’s life in a creedal formula ending with his reception into glory.
Hebrews largely concerns Christ’s current ministry as the exalted priest in the heavenly sanctuary (Heb 1:8; 4:14, 16; 6:19–20; 8:1; 9:12, 24; 12:2).
1 Peter connects Christian baptism to Christ’s ascent (1 Pet 3:21–22).

The epistles do not cast aside or ignore the ascension. Rather, it becomes the ballast for Christ’s present work and his future judgment, and the basis for Christian ethics.

John’s visions in Revelation, not surprisingly, also center on the one he sees in the throne room (Rev 1:13). In the Spirit, John sees the throne and one seated on the throne, who receives glory, honor, and strength (4:2, 9–10). Between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders, John sees a slain Lamb standing (5:6). The Lamb is with God and is worshiped in the throne room (5:13).⁷

Although the ascension is rarely mentioned in explicit terms, the New Testament assumes its central place. All of the authors write in response to, and work backward from, the ascension. The ascension revealed the Messiah’s exaltation and triumph, finished his work on the earth, guaranteed his current sovereignty, broke the barrier between heaven and earth (thus pouring out the Spirit), and pledged his return. New Testament authors employ the event to comfort their readers, call them to holiness, and help them to endure suffering. Without the ascent of Christ, Christianity would not exist.

2. The earliest Christian preaching—in Acts—proclaims Christ’s ascension

Not only does the New Testament as a whole provide evidence of the centrality of the ascension, but so do the first Christian sermons in Acts. When the apostles went out and preached the message of Jesus, they highlighted the resurrection and ascension. All five of Peter’s sermons reference, either explicitly or implicitly, the ascension, and so do most of the speeches in Acts.

Peter’s sermons in Acts

Peter’s first sermon sets the stage for the rest of the sermons in Acts and provides one of the fullest summaries of the Christian message. In many ways, the rest of the sermons in Acts are condensed forms of the same themes. When Peter preached after Pentecost, he devoted a large portion of his sermon to the event of the resurrection–ascension of Christ.

The same emphasis occurs in the rest of Peter’s sermons:

In Acts 3, after healing the lame man, Peter explained the healing did not come from his own power, but from God. He affirmed heaven must receive Jesus until God restores all things (3:21).
Later, in 4:10, Peter spoke of God raising Jesus from the dead and said salvation is found in no other name (4:12).
After Peter’s second arrest, he again referenced the ascent, claiming, “God exalted this man to his right hand as Prince and Savior. … We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit” (Acts 5:31–32).
Peter’s final sermon to Cornelius has at least two references to the Messiah’s exaltation. He claimed Jesus is Lord of all (Acts 10:36) and said Christ “is the one appointed by God to be the judge of the living and the dead” (Acts 10:42).

Paul’s sermons in Acts

Paul’s sermons, like Peter’s, also focus on the ascension. Paul’s first sermon in Antioch sets the stage and informs the rest of the summaries Luke provides (Acts 13:16–41). Paul referred to Christ’s ascension by quoting from Psalm 2. God raised Jesus up and Jesus became God’s Son, as quoted in Psalm 2:7. The next verses continue Paul’s theme about the exaltation of Jesus, but from a negative point of view: Jesus will not see decay (13:34–37). This is the same text Peter cited in his Pentecost sermon (2:25–28).

Paul and Silas told the prison guard in Philippi to believe in the Lord Jesus (16:31). Even in Antioch, when Paul preached to gentiles, he twice referenced Jesus’s resurrection–ascension (17:18, 31). In Paul’s farewell speech at Ephesus, he referred to faith in the Lord Jesus (20:21).

The point is, when the early church proclaimed Jesus, it proclaimed his exaltation.

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3. Christ’s ascension functions as a canonical hinge

The Messiah’s ascent is a key to the scriptural narrative because of its canonical placement.

Though the ascent is explicitly narrated in only two places, at the end of the Gospel of Luke (24:50–53) and at the beginning of Acts (1:9–11), these locations are quite important. If Acts pushes readers into a new phase of the story of God’s work in this world, then at the center of this shift is the departure of Christ. The ascension marks the birth of a new age—the new covenant—and the end of the old era.

On the dime of the ascension, the Bible turns from the age of Jesus to the age of the church. The development of all the other themes in the New Testament is sourced in the reality of Christ’s enthronement and the Father’s plan. As Robert Maddox puts it, “The ascension is for Luke the point of intersection of Christology, eschatology, and ecclesiology.”⁸

Christ’s ascension and session therefore became the hinge on which the New Testament turns—a watershed moment determining and directing the rest of the narrative. A few explorations of how this canonical hinge informs the reading of the rest of the New Testament are necessary.

The good news about Christ’s reign

The gospel, which brings salvation, directly concerns Jesus’s reign over all.

Jesus was declared the king of the universe because of, or maybe better, in his ascent. This Son of Man was given dominion, glory, a kingdom that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his kingdom is one that will not be destroyed (Dan 7:13–14).

The exaltation and dominion of Christ was not only the spur catapulting his people into the world, but the message they were to share. Thomas Torrance writes, “The church lives and works in the time that is established by the ascension for the proclamation of the gospel to all nations and ages.”⁹

The place of Christ’s reign

The place of Jesus’s reign became the ground for mission to the ends of the earth.

The rest of the New Testament essentially recounts the growth and struggle of these Jesus communities as they popped up all over the Greco-Roman world. They spread out because Jesus reigns in heaven. The spread of the gospel geographically and the birth of the church is inseparable from Christ’s cosmic reign in the heavens. Earthly space was reordered by the heavenly Christ.

Christ’s reign in heaven became the primary setting for the New Testament, forming the theological and narratival perspective for the rest of the story. Without the ascension, there would be no mission.

The Spirit sent by the Christ who reigns

The ascended Lord and the Father sent the Holy Spirit to his people.

The rest of the New Testament explains and encourages Christians in the way they can be continually filled with the Spirit. This can only happen because of Christ’s ascent. Peter in his Pentecost sermon explained how Jesus’s ascension and the pouring out of the Spirit were linked: “Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God … he has poured out this that you yourselves are hearing and seeing” (Acts 2:33).

4. The church has always confessed the ascension in her creeds & confessions

The fourth reason to not abandon the Messiah’s ascension is the fathers of the faith made it central and foundational in the early creeds. Whenever the early Christians recounted the work of Christ in summary form, the ascension was always included.

The Apostles’ Creed (AD 120–250)

The Apostles’ Creed includes the ascent in the narrative summary of Jesus’s work. The creed includes the line “he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father.” Jesus’s work, according to this early creed, culminates in Christ’s ascension and session in heaven, from which he will come again to judge the living and the dead.

The Nicene Creed (AD 325, 381)

The Nicene Creed similarly speaks of Christ’s work, which concludes and climaxes with the ascension. The Son was made incarnate, suffered, rose from the dead, and “ascended into heaven. From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.”

The First Council of Constantinople (AD 381) includes his incarnation, birth, crucifixion, burial, and resurrection. It does not abandon the Messiah’s ascent, asserting he “ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father, from where he will come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.”

The Athanasian Creed (AD 500)

The Athanasian Creed, though focused on trinitarian doctrine and Christology, includes a summary of Christ’s life. Like the earlier creeds, it includes a clause about Christ’s session. “He ascended into heaven, he sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, from where he will come to judge the living and the dead.”

Historic Protestant confessions

The major Protestant confessions also include the ascent in their doctrinal statements.

The Augsburg Confession (1530) states that Jesus “ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God.”
The First Helvetic Confession (1536) says, “He has set his flesh, which he raised from death to life, at the right hand of his almighty Father.”
The Scots Confession (1560) asserts Christ “did ascend into the heavens, for the accomplishment of all things, where in our name and for our comfort He has received all power in heaven and on earth, where He sits at the right hand of the Father.”

In summary, when the church creeds recount the basic narrative of Christ’s work, they always include the ascent. The ascension and session is the triumph of Christ’s story. Early Christians never overlooked or disregarded the exaltation of Christ in confessional documents. Christ’s ascension and session constantly came after Christ’s resurrection and before the statement that he will return to judge the living and the dead.

5. The ascension shapes our theology & practice

The final reason the Messiah’s ascent is essential is its relation to other doctrines and its practical significance.

The doctrine of the Trinity

First, it is important to recognize that the ascension is fundamentally a trinitarian reality. In the ascension, Jesus returned to the Father (John 16:28; 20:17), and they both bestowed the Spirit (Acts 2:33). Any reading of our Bible that neglects the Christological center or the trinitarian nature of this work will be fundamentally skewed from the start.

The kingdom of God

Second, the church conducts its new citizenship in response to the absence and in anticipation of the return of Christ as king and judge. The two angels in Acts 1:11 declared Jesus would come back in the same way he was taken up. Torrance says, “By withdrawing himself from continuing visible and immediate contact as our contemporary in history, Jesus Christ establishes the people of God within the process and structured patterns of history as a coherent body.”¹⁰ Christ’s kingdom is here, progressing, and will come again. It is localized in the work of the church through the Spirit.

Further, Jesus’s rule over heaven and earth is the foundation for our witness on the earth. His lordship is what we call others to bow before.

A descent–ascent pattern

Finally, the actions of the church mimic a descent–ascent pattern. We go underwater that we might be raised up. We suffer that we might be glorified. We sacrifice that we might be accepted. We bear one another’s burdens so that we might experience the presence of God. We go down with Christ that we might rise with him. Christ is our brother, and we follow him into fullness of life.

Conclusion

The Messiah’s ascent is thus critical for any reading of the Bible. It is a vital hinge on which the work of Christ turns. Though it can be overlooked and even neglected, Christ’s ascension was central to the New Testament, the early creeds, the first Christian sermons, and the transition from the Jesus age to the church age, and has theological and practical significance.

This article is adapted from Patrick Schreiner, The Ascension of Christ: Recovering a Neglected Doctrine (Lexham Press, 2020).