It's easy to guess that, when a sermon is on the ascension of the Lord, the Bible text will be Acts 1. Therefore, I decided to take a look at other places that either indirectly or directly talk about the ascension of Jesus Christ. The first of these is Matthew 28:16-20 (read).
The ascension isn't mentioned here, but this is the last "act" of the Gospel of Matthew—the most important, significant words of Jesus Christ just before he ascends to the Father in Heaven. This is the commandment to the Church from the One who was eager to return to where he had come into the world from. Here Jesus isn't talking anymore about what villages to go to together with the disciples, he isn't teaching them in parables, he isn't healing anybody, he's not rising early in the morning to go out and pray alone, with his disciples rushing around anxiously to find out where he has disappeared to. Those days have passed! This is the risen Lord, the Conqueror of death, the Eternal Word/Logos, whose gaze is fixed on reunion with the One Whose redeeming will he has perfectly carried out. A sense of anticipation permeates everything Jesus says here. These are more than "parting words"; these are words spoken from a whole different viewpoint already. Even though Jesus is still on the earth while he speaks, the words sound just like what we could expect to hear from the ascended Christ seated at the right hand of the Father in Heaven. The Great Commission says, in brief, that the light of the risen, ascended Son of God illuminates life's whole purpose here in this world. The Great Commission is not only an assignment to us on earth; it is Christ's own "job description" in Heaven through us.
This perplexes us for two reasons. First, why did they doubt? Or actually, what were they doubting? And secondly, why does Matthew mention it at all? And so abruptly, just dropping it as soon as he mentions it? "Some doubted" – no elaboration. It's a bit like someone explaining principles of algebra to you and suddenly announcing, "You know, I just adore pickles", then going right on with the algebra.
It's a bit like that here. We call these final words in Matthew "The Great Commission" because Jesus, having appeared to the disciples, commands them to preach the good news everywhere in the world. And as a rule we practically never even pay attention to that odd little "glitch" in the text about how some doubted. But it must be there for a reason!
Here's a useful secret for Bible interpretation. When you bump into a phrase, or statement, or verse that doesn't seem to… "correlate", seems odd and out-of-place, sometimes the thing is that you shouldn't be trying to understand the difficult spot in the light of its context; instead, try understanding the context in light of the difficult spot! Quite possibly, as a result you'll find that the difficult spot throws the whole context into a new light and becomes clear at the same time itself, too. If we try that approach here in Matthew, what do we discover?
The eleven disciples have come to the mountain. They've seen Jesus, very likely from a distance at first. Some of them immediately start "worshipping", as the text says. What does that mean? Possibly they started shouting, "It's Jesus! It's the Lord! He is risen! Praise God!" But others doubted. What does that mean? Maybe they weren't so sure who they were seeing in the distance. I can imagine them saying, "Wait a minute. Not so fast. What are you saying? Who is that? Is that really him?"
And in response to this, what does Jesus do? Verse 18: He approached them. He came up to them. He came close to them. Did you ever wonder why it says that? Maybe it's precisely because he was far away from them at first, when some started worshipping while others... didn't. But I don't think that when Jesus did this—that is, when he walked right up to them—I don't think any of them were doubting any more.
Jesus not only came up to them—to all of them, to the worshippers and the doubters—in order to dispel any doubt, but he also pronounced words of assurance. The "Great Commission" isn't only a "commission"; it's a word of assurance precisely to those who were doubting. Jesus assures them all: "All authority has been given to me". That is, "You don't need to doubt. It's me, who the glory and power have been given to forever. It's me, who died and destroyed the kingdom of death with my invincible life—I am alive forever. Be confident, because it's me—I will always be with you to do the Father's will through you."
When we read the Great Commission in the light of that one, odd, troubling phrase in verse 17, suddenly we sense the deep mercy of Christ, the grace of Christ, in what he tells the disciples. The doubt makes more sense of the Great Commission. Jesus doesn't condemn the disciples who, after all, came to meet him on the mountain according to his instructions! They didn't come here, after all, in order to doubt! They came to see and believe. Some didn’t want to be reckless, they were hesitant to jump to a conclusion, to believe that the person up there on the mountain was the One who died on the cross. But Jesus, the risen Lord of life, approaches them all, assures them all, promises always to be with them all, and hands them all the highest calling, to proclaim His news to the whole world. This is the calling of Heaven itself; there is no higher honor. And, yes, Jesus handed this honor even to the ones who had doubted, who maybe said, "Hold on, not so fast; let's make sure that's him." And, having given this honor to the disciples, Jesus returned to the Father.
Now let's look at another place in Scripture that doesn't pop immediately to mind in connection with the Ascension. It's Matthew 3:14-17 (read).
I preached on this passage before and suggested that in Jesus' baptism you can see the whole history of redemption. Take a look – there's Jesus, identifying with the people, taking part in the same "Baptism of Repentance" as they did, just like later he will carry their sins to the cross, and there he is going down in the water, just like later he'll be buried in the earth, and now he is rising from the water, just as later he will emerge from tomb alive. And then the heavens open, just like later they will open to receive him in the ascension and then the Holy Spirit descends upon him, just like the Spirit will descend later on the Body of Christ, His Holy Church, and then the voice of the Father in Heaven exalts Jesus, just like later God the Father will exalt the Lamb, His Only-Begotten, before all eyes in the eternal kingdom. This is a stunning enactment that prophesies everything our Creator and God intends to carry out with this very Jesus who, one fine day, quietly walked up to John to be baptized. It's no surprise, therefore, that Jesus said to John, "We have to do all this in order to fulfill all righteousness."
Every element of his baptism serves to fulfill the perfect righteousness which is God's salvation. God's salvation is God's righteousness carried out to the very end. In salvation God's righteousness itself is totally realized. We usually think that Jesus is talking about human righteousness here, when he says that "all righteousness" must be fulfilled—the perfect righteousness God demanded of Man but only Jesus could fulfill. But I think that when Jesus says, "all righteousness", he really means all righteousness; that includes the righteousness of God that was manifested to the uttermost limit in the accomplishment of redemption.
And how does this relate to the ascension? Here's how. Just like all of God's acts, the ascension of Christ also fulfills God's righteousness, just like Jesus baptism prophesied. The whole story fulfills "all righteousness." It is right and good and... needed for salvation that Jesus ascended to the Father. It was right, and good, and loving and merciful that Jesus came up to the disciples to say, "Look, it's Me. I truly have all the power and authority, I truly will be with you always." It was perfectly right, and good, and needed, and righteous, for Jesus to return to where we can't see him, at the Father's right hand, where he intercedes for us ceaselessly, and from where he mysteriously, miraculously remains with us here at the same time, together with the Father and Holy Spirit: "Whoever loves me will obey my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him." And this also was right, good, needed, and righteousness—the righteousness of God that would never have been fulfilled if Jesus had not returned to the Father.
In conclusion, let's look at one direct account of Jesus ascension, in Mark 16:19-20. (read)
In the Gospel of John, Christ told his disciples, "It's good for you that I'm going away, because if I don't go away, I cannot return to you to be with you." Here in Mark the meaning of this is clear: Jesus, now received into heaven, seated at the right hand of the Father, is working with us, confirming his work in us, establishing our work in himself, magnifying the fruit of our service for him, yes and its eternal meaning and glory in the Father's sight. By leaving to return to the Father, Christ made our life a part of heaven. The apostle Paul says, "He has blessed us in the heavenlies." And again, "He has hidden our life with himself in heaven." We are in him, and in him we have a heavenly inheritance. We have a heavenly inheritance precisely because God's Son, Christ, chose to approach us, to come close, when we were far away and doubting. He chose to walk right up and meet us in our doubts, our weaknesses and faults. He came closer. He picked up our guilt and shame and carried it in himself to the cross in sacrifice. Yes, and raised our souls in himself in resurrection. Yes, and brought us with himself right to the throne of God, and hid our life with himself there, in anticipation of the day when we shall appear with him in glory.
And that is how the only Savior fulfilled all righteousness. As for us, we mustn't doubt but trust, follow, and aim for the works that the ascended Lord will fulfill through us to his glory.
Before he ascended, he approached his disciples in love, right where they were. Who does he want us to approach in his love, that a soul might be saved?
