That there is an unconscious questioning of this fact of ascension is evident from the way in which reference is sometimes made to the Lord Jesus.

For the ascension of Jesus was also the climatic, crowning event of his exaltation, and the necessary precursor to his continuing work through the Spirit and the church. “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven” ( Acts 1:11).īut there’s more to it than that. The ascension also foreshadowed the final event in salvation history: Jesus’ personal, physical, glorious return. resurrection & ascension) as the salvific event.” įor one thing, the ascension accounts for why the appearances of Jesus during the forty days following his resurrection ceased. And the ascension was so important for Luke, that he ended volume one with it ( Luke 24:50-51), begins volume two by reporting it again ( Acts 1:9-11), and then refers back to it several times in the book of Acts.Īs Joel Green, a New Testament scholar who specializes in Luke’s writings, comments, “Luke presents the exaltation (i.e. Volume one is the gospel that bears his name.

Luke wrote a two-part history of the origins of Christianity. But the ascension is pivotal, especially in the writings of Luke. Usually we focus on the crucifixion and the resurrection. My guess is that you probably haven’t read any books about it or heard many sermons on it. But though it occupies a vital place in Scripture, it doesn’t get a lot of attention today, even among Christians. The ascension of Jesus Christ into heaven is one of the most important events recorded in the New Testament.

Ascension definition