Speaker Sermon/Lesson Title Audio   Video  Text     MS Word Category Bobby Stafford Jesus Ascends Into Heaven        Jesus Christ

Jesus Ascends into Heaven   

Introduction:

Jesus had given the Great Commission to His apostles.  They were to make disciples among all nations.  This process involved teaching and baptism.  Now His last appearance to them occurred forty days after His resurrection –  an appearance I’m sure they would never forget.

Text:  Acts 1:1-11

Body:

I.            A Summary of His Last Forty Days 

Acts 1:1-3 “The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,  2 until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, 3 to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.” NKJV  Verse 1  This second document (Acts of Apostles) was a continuation of an earlier one (Luke’s account of the gospel).  Acts begins where Luke ends.  The two accounts overlap with the ascension of Christ.  (Luke 24:49-53) “Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.’  And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them.  Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven.  And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God.  Amen.” NKJV  Verse 2  Commandments probably is a reference to the commission to preach the gospel, beginning at Jerusalem.  (Luke 24:47) “and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” NKJV  Verse 3  This verse sums up Christ’s forty days between resurrection and ascension.  Jesus appeared to apostles many times.  Paul lists some in I Corinthians 15.  He also presented many unmistakable proofs to them. The apostles’ faith was not some kind of “leap in the dark.”  It rested on proof – abundant evidence.  Biblical faith is not some  ‘Pie-in-the-sky wishful thinking.  Rather it is the “substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”  Hebrews 11:1  Since the kingdom was fast approaching; Jesus spent much time discussing it with the apostles.  [During forty days]

II.          The Promise of the Holy Spirit 

Acts 1:4-8 “And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, ‘which,’ He said, ‘you have heard from Me; 5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now,’ 6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, ‘Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?’ 7 And He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know times of seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. 8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.’ ” NKJV  Luke now records conversation between Christ and the apostles on the day that He ascended back to heaven.  Verses 4-5  Both the Father and the Son had promised the apostles they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit.  Father – Matthew 3,  Son – John 14  The Holy Spirit would teach them all things; give them a remembrance of those things and guide them into all truth.  (John 14:26) “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.” NKJV  “Not many days from now.”  Ten to be exact –  On Pentecost as recorded in Acts 2:1-4.  “When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.  And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.  Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.  And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” NKJV  Verse 6  The Apostles asked one last question concerning the kingdom.  Possibly their hopes of a new political, earthly kingdom had been revived by Jesus’ resurrection.  We see by their misconception the importance and necessity of the Holy Spirit being sent to guide them.  Just ten days later Peter and other apostles, after being baptized with the Holy Spirit, preach about the true nature of the kingdom.

(Acts 2:29-35) “Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.  Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption.  This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses.  Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear.  For David did not ascent into the heavens, but he says himself:  ‘The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.’” NKJV  Never again did the apostles perceive of the kingdom as an earthly, political one.  Verse 7  Jesus didn’t try to correct their misunderstanding.  The Holy Spirit would do that soon.  He did say they were asking about things beyond their right or need to know, especially concerning times.  Verse 8  Knowing certain times and so on were not needed for their work, but this is that they would receive capability of carrying out work they were given when the Holy Spirit came upon them.  They would then be His “witnesses.”  (John 15:26-27) “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.  And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.” NKJV  We today cannot “witness” as they did.  We are about 1900 years too late to be able to truly “witness.”  Lastly He refers to the geographical order with which they were to carry out the commission.  First Jerusalem (Acts 1-7), then Judea and onto Samaria (Acts 8-12), and to the ends of the earth (Acts 13-28).  Seemingly this was the most effective plan for spreading the gospel.

III.        Jesus’ Ascension 

Acts 1:9-11 “Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 10 And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went fastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, 11 who also said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven?  This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.’ ” NKJV  After He had finished talking with the apostles, He began rising in the air.  (Luke 24:51) “Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven.” NKJV  This verse records that He was in the act of blessing them as He began to ascend.  Jesus rose until He disappeared into a cloud.  The apostles were probably spellbound as they watched.  Two men, probably angels, appear and break this spell and recall to them the great task which was ahead for them.  They must tell the world of His coming into the world to save it, and His coming again one day in judgment upon it.

IV.         The Importance of His Ascension

A.    The ascension was prophesied in the Old Testament.  (Psalm 24:7-10) “Lift up your heads, O you gates!  And be lifted up, you everlasting doors!  And the King of glory shall come in.  Who is this King of glory?  The Lord strong and mighty, The Lord mighty in battle.  Lift up your heads, O you gates!  Lift up, you everlasting doors!  And the King of glory shall come in.  Who is this King of glory?  The Lord of hosts.  He is the King of glory.” NKJV

B.    Jesus must ascend to heaven before the Holy Spirit could be sent to the apostles.  (John 16:7) “Nevertheless I tell you the truth.  It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart,  I will send Him to you.” NKJV

C.  It was necessary to return to the Father in heaven and present His atoning blood.  Notice Hebrews 9:12, 24-26.  “Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.  24-26 For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another – He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world, but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.” NKJV

D.   Jesus had to return to the Father to receive His eternal kingdom.  (Daniel 7:13-14) “I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven!  He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him.  Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him.  His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one Which shall not be destroyed.” NKJV

 

 (I Corinthians 15:24-25) “Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power.  For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet.” NKJV

E.    It was necessary for Him to be our mediator and advocate.  (Hebrews 4:14-16) “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.  For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.  Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” NKJV  (I John 2:1) “My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin.  And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” NKJV

Invitation:

Just as Jesus ascended into heaven, He has promised to return.  (I Thessalonians 4:15-17) “For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.  For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God.  And the dead in Christ will rise first.  Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.  And thus we shall always be with the Lord.” NKJV  Are you prepared for that great day?

Bobby Stafford 

April 1, 2018