Today, Thursday, May 17, is Ascension Day. It is a public holi-
day in the Scandanavian countries, Germany, and the Nether-
lands. But it is hardly noticed in Britain and North America ex-
cept by Roman Catholics and Episcopalians.
But Ascension Day is as important as Christmas, Good Friday,
Resurrection Sunday, and Pentecost because on each of those
days we remember that God did something marvelous and a-
mazing. On Ascension Day we remember that the resurrected
Jesus, in the presence of His apostles and disciples, ascended
bodily into Heaven.
Jesus' Ascension took place forty days after He was resurrect-
ed. During those days He preached, taught, and was among His
disciples and apostles. You can read biblical accounts of Christ's
Ascension in Acts 1:6-11, Mark 16:19, Luke 24:50-51, and Eph-
esians 4:7-13. We also affirm His Ascension whenever we con-
fess our faith as expressed in the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds.
We believe that Jesus ascended into Heaven in order to sit at
the right hand of the Father. This means that He rules over
all of creation with majesty and power as King of Kings and
Lord of Lords. He intercedes to the Father on our behalf, pre-
pares to return to take us home, and has sent His Spirit as He
had promised.
In the Act's account, Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would
come upon the Church so that we would be empowered to be
His witnesses to all the world. So we look forward to Pentecost
in ten day's time. Two angels declared that Jesus would one
day return to us just as He had ascended into Heaven. And so
we look forward to Jesus Christ coming again as King of Kings
and Lord of Lords.
Come, Lord Jesus!
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