ASCENSION DAY
Text: Acts 1:1-11
Source from Back to Luther with German archive reference. Back to Walther's Epistle Sermons.
Lord Jesus Christ, victorious and gracious Savior! You have ascended on high, you have received gifts for men, for the rebellious also. Today before your throne we who live upon your footstool cry to your eternal majesty, and beseech you to open your hand over us and pour your gifts into our empty hearts. Through your Word help us to ascend to you on the wings of faith. Come to us with grace and blessing for your own sake. Amen.
In Christ the ascended Lord, dear Christian friends.
Today we have gathered here to commemorate a wonderful story, the story of the glorious ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ. David, to whom this wonderful work had been revealed by the Holy Spirit, could not describe, praise, or extol it in words sufficiently glorious. He says: "God is gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet. Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praised unto our King, sing praises. For God is the King of all the earth; sing ye praises with understanding. God reigneth over the heathen; God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness." Ps 47,5-8.
After the resurrected Christ (this is what our today's lection says) had shown himself alive to his apostles by manifold proofs, had let himself be seen by them for 40 days, and had talked with them about the kingdom of God, he gathered them together upon the Mount of Olives. With uplifted hands he gave them his blessing. They did not know what was about to happen, and behold, while all stood about him, he suddenly lifted himself up from the earth. In amazement they all looked up to the skies and saw the Lord ascend higher and higher until a cloud, which received the ascending Lord like a chariot of triumph, hid him from their sight. This cloud was like a veil which God pulled shut, so that the disciples could not follow the ascension of the Savior any more. It was, as it were, the gate to the world which closed behind the Redeemer of the world when he left it to return to the Father. Sunk in thought, full of yearning and amazement, the apostles continued to direct their gaze to the point where their Lord and Savior had been withdrawn from sight; behold, two men stood by them in long, white, gleaming raiment who said· "Ye man of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." Acts 1,11.
That, my friends, describes in a few words what the apostles saw and heard. However, much more was revealed about today's event by the Holy Spirit which they in turn revealed to us. According to their report Christ's ascension is not merely a disappearance as Christ disappeared before the disciples of Emmaus it is also not only a remaining hidden as Christ miraculously hid himself from the Jews when they attempted to stone him; it also was not merely a change of form as happened when he was transfigured upon Mount Tabor. No, Christ had truly ascended into heaven, not into the region of the stars, but after the clouds had received him, into the heaven of the saints amid the sound of heavenly trumpets and the jubilation of the heavenly hosts.
The apostles tell us even more. Christ according to body and soul was exalted over the heaven of heavens upon the throne of the Holy Trinity, upon the highest throne, from which the Triune God looks down upon all who live upon
earth, so that Christ fills all things. In our today's Gospel we therefore read: "He sat down on the right hand of God." Mk 16,19.
The right hand of God is not a certain place in heaven; for God does not sit, as the artists portray him, as an old man upon a throne of gold or diamonds and at his right hand the Son of man. God's right hand is his almighty power which fills heaven and earth. As a man Christ was today installed into this power, so that as a man he rules everywhere from one sea to the other until the end of time.
To be sure, that far surpasses all the limits of our powers of comprehension. That is the most glorious thing which God's Word reveals to us of the man Jesus. For to which angel did God ever say: "Sit thou at my right hand until I make thy enemies thy footstool"?
My friends, this is merely the story of this day. Let us go further and ponder the most necessary thing, the meaning, fruit, and power of the ascension of Jesus Christ for us.
Quote the text here: Acts 1,1-11.
This lesson contains the story of the ascension of Jesus Christ and what immediately preceded it; this we have already considered in the introduction. We now consider:
THE GLORIOUS ASCENSION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST
1. Its Important Meaning, and
2. Its Glorious Fruit and Power.
I.
The events of the day of Christ's ascension are to a certain extent only a picture of that which they portend. Contrary to nature Christ raised his body like an eagle into the air and thereby shows us, what our bodies will be like after the resurrection. They will be true bodies with flesh and bone and with all its essential parts and members, but they will not be so heavy and clumsy as now; as we can in a second transfer ourselves by our thoughts into distant places, so will we also be able to do this some day with our bodies. We saw that after his resurrection the stone before the grave and closed doors could not stop Christ; he passed through them with his body and no one knows how; he let himself be seen and made himself invisible as he wishes; in one second he is at this place, the next in another; he could walk on the air and water just as well as on the ground; we also can expect such glory for our body after this life; we shall be like the glorified body of Christ according to the working whereby he is able to subdue all things to himself.
And this is not the most important prospect. That Christ was taken up from the earth into heaven and was carried out of sight on the clouds portends that the true spiritual ascension, the spiritual kingdom of Christ is, as Paul writes, "above," that is, heavenly, spiritual, invisible, until it will be revealed.
By his resurrection Christ was made Lord of all, also according to his human nature; he says after his resurrection: "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth." Mt 28,18, What Christ from eternity had and continually
used according to his divine nature, he always had according to his human nature but during his humiliation he seldom used it. However, after his resurrection Christ according to his human nature had not yet taken over complete rule; this took place after his ascension. According to his human nature, he then seated himself in equal majesty and power with the Father to use them fully.
When other kings and lords leave this world, they must surrender their crown to another; but when our King and Lord, Jesus Christ,left this world, he seated himself on high on his throne on the right hand of majesty, where mortal eye can not see him. This did not take Christ farther away from his Church; in a certain sense it brought him infinitely closer than before. For if he still walked in Jerusalem, not all his believers could be with him and hear him. But now he rules in all, preaches to all; all hear him, and he is with all until the end of days; now he is present everywhere; he fills all creatures; he fills all things; nothing is so great in heaven and on earth that he has no power over it.
To be sure, our reason cannot grasp this; but we must certainly bear in mind that Christ's ascension is an article of faith, which we cannot grasp with our reason but which we must humbly believe.
From Christ's ascension we should draw conclusions not only of the greatness, but also, as we said, of the spiritual nature of his kingdom. Christ, our King, left the world to begin his rule; he indicated that his kingdom is not of this world, nor does it have anything to do with temporal, visible, earthly things. Christ's ascension is the actual proof of his words: "The kingdom of God cometh not with observation; neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there ! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you." Lk 17,20.21.
Christ's ascension therefore shows that the pope falsely calls him self Christ's vicar, that the papal church is not Christ's Church; the pope's church is a worldly kingdom consisting of all sorts of worldly ordinances, states, and acts; it propagates itself by earthly pomp, riches, power, buildings, and all sorts of human institutions. Christ's ascension also shows that earthly weapons cannot be used to defend his kingdom, but only spiritual weapons, the Word and prayer. Christ's ascension banishes all ideas of seeking worldly power, wealth, and honor with Christ, of thinking that an external, civil, worldly righteousness avails before God. It tells us that Christ is rather occupied with other things; in his kingdom he gives us heavenly riches, grace, forgiveness, righteousness, redemption from sin, death, and hell, and eternal life.
The ascension reminds us, that if we want to live under Christ in his kingdom, our heart must be lifted to heaven and seek its happiness in the riches of this world. To be sure as long as we live; in this world,it is impossible for us to dispense with all earthly things and lead an angelic life; but a Christian should certainly bear in mind that with his body he still belongs on earth under worldly government; he must live here with wife, child, house and field; but with his heart and mind the Christian does not belong to this world; he should say, as St. Paul writes: "The world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." Gal 6,14b. He also admonishes: "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth." Col 3, 1. 2. Again he writes: "Our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ." Phil 3,20. "Where your treasure is," says Christ, "there will your heart be also." Mt 6,21. Christ seated himself on his heavenly th rone; our heart should be in heaven and continually yearn for it.
II.
All this had to be mentioned first concerning the meaning of Christ's ascension. Let us in the second place also ponder its glorious fruit and power.
My friends, this does not mean that we can weave all sorts of beautiful thoughts from our reason and heart as to the fruit of Christ's ascension. We find that alone in God's Word. One of the clearest and most important passage we find in Paul's letter to the Ephesians. We read: "When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto me. (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things." Eph 4,8-10.
Here St. Paul introduces one of David's prophecies concerning the ascension. We read: "Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive; thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also." When St. Paul adds: "Nov? that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?" indicates that if we are to have the correct understanding of the fruit and power of Christ's ascension, we must consider it in its connection with his descent, with the state of his deepest humiliation.
Since after Adam's fall all men lay in the prison of sin, the Law, death, and the devil, God's Son in eternal love and mercy decided to free us; and he did so by taking the form of a sinner and letting himself be placed in our stead into the prison of sin, the Law, death and hell. We see Christ in this prison during his whole life, and especially when on the Mt. of Olives he sweat blood, when he hung of the cross, and finally, when killed by death and the devil, he gave up his precious life. Joyfully did death and the devil see this. Both seemed to have triumphed over Christ. But now that Christ had arrived at the Lowest parts of the earth, he did not lose his divinity; he had merely divested himself of the use of his divine glory, in order to be able to offer himself for the reconciliation of our sins; when this had taken place, all at once the prison learned what a strong, mighty, yes, almighty Lord is had taken captive. With divine power Christ destroyed all the fortresses of death; for it was impossible, says Peter in his Pentecost sermon, that he should be held by death. Victoriously he arose from the grave; all our foes, who had wanted to hold the Lord Christ captive, he in turn had bound in chains, and made a boast of them openly. Only one thing was still left after his resurrection: Taking over complete control; this happened when he gloriously ascended into heaven and sat down on the right hand of majesty. When he, who had come down into all the prisons of men for them, again ascended with jubilation, what happened with the prisons of men? They were imprisoned by their own prisoners. The Ascended became the death of death, the sin of sin, the Law of the Law, the poison of poison, i.e., he destroyed the works of the devil, the power of the Law, the fear of death, the rights of sin, the power of Satan.
Oh, what a glorious, comforting, and joyful work Christ's ascension is for all who believe in him! By it everything, which formerly held our souls prisoner, has now become our prisoner.
By nature we are all the prisoners and slaves of sin; we must do what sin commands. Through the ascension, sin has become our prisoner and it must do what we command. Oh, yes, it can still attack us, but this also must contribute to our good. For if sin would tempt no more, our faith v?ould soon become cold, our prayer would become half-hearted, and the Word would be studied and lived only in an indolent way. But sin must serve to make us redouble our zeal
against it and grasp Christ and his grace the more firmly. We see this clearly in the saints who also were conquered by sin; in the end sin lost out anyhow. David and Peter rose again and prayed so much the more zealously against it, watched so much the more earnestly, and become more humble before God and man. Even of sin this is true, that " all things work together for good to them that love God!" Rom 8,28.
Thus it is also with death. It is a horrible foe of the human race, a vile poison, the most terrible punishment decreed by God because of sin. But through Christ it has become the prisoner of all believers. Yes, it can still frighten them, but not swallow them; yes,because Christians fear death, It causes them to flee the more quickly to Christ to week help, protection, and deliverance from him; it makes them prepare the more earnestly for their departure from time into eternity. If there were no death, Christians would never seek that comfort in God's Word which they need.
Thus it is with the Law. It curses and injures the believers no more but only drives them to seek grace and blessing from Christ. The thunder of the Lav; is turned into a fruitful storm after which the seed of the Gospel blossoms so much the more gloriously.
And finally, thus it is with Satan himself. By nature he has us all under his tyranny; but after Christ our Savior seated himself on his throne, he is our captive. One little word can now fell him. His cunning and power, his creeping after all our ways, must now make the believers feel insecure; they must the more diligently commend themselves into God's protection and walk the more bravely, courageously, and discreetly.
So you see that you consider Christ's ascension in its true light when you view it as the victorious capture of all the foes of our souls which followed the battle won by Christ through his death and resurrection.
Yet Christ is not satisfied with that. David in Pa 60 says that he has received gifts "for the rebellious also." What gifts they are Christ predicts to his disciples, when he says: "Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you." Jn 16,7. It is the Holy Ghost whom Christ sends after he seated himself at the right hand of God. The fruit of the ascension is therefore a lasting one; Christ continually sends his Word into the world,calls men into his kingdom, guides the believers in all truth, comforts them in all anxiety, does not let his Church go under in spite of all the attacks of the devil and the world and in spite of all offenses; he protects it so that even the gates of hell cannot overcome it.
Let us then thank Christ for the glorious conclusion to the work of our redemption. Let us in faith seize his almighty protection; we will then be secure from all our foes; let us open our hearts to him and he will fill them with the riches of his gifts.
To the Ascended be praise and glory and adoration forever and ever! Amen.