The Kingdom of God Is Still at Hand: Sermon for The Ascension of Our Lord
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"The Ascension" by James Tissot
“[Jesus] presented Himself
alive to them after His suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty
days and speaking about the Kingdom of God… So when they had come together,
they asked Him, ‘Lord, will You at this time restore the Kingdom to Israel?’” (Acts
1:3,6).
Grace to you and peace
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!
When
it comes to Christian holy days and festivals of the Church there is no greater
confusion than over the Ascension
of Our Lord both in terms of what we are celebrating and why we are celebrating
it. We confess the ascension of Christ every Sunday in the words of the creeds:
“And He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father” but no further
explanation is really given in either of the creeds, and we are left with more
questions than answers concerning Christ’s ascension. Why didn’t Jesus stay? Where
is He now? What is the right hand of God? Does this mean that Christ isn’t with
us now?
These questions are worth exploring from the Bible
because they determine how we, as the Church, receive Christ and His benefits
on the other side of His death and resurrection. The appointed readings for the
Ascension of Our Lord come from Act 1:1-11, Ephesians 1:15-23; and Luke 24:44-53,
and historically these passages have served as the basis for our confession of
the ascension. Tonight, we will look at them specifically focusing on a question
asked by Jesus’ confused disciples: “Lord, will You at this time restore the Kingdom
to Israel?”
For the forty days
between His resurrection and ascension, Jesus had taught about the Kingdom of
God. This was nothing new. When John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus, he
had declared, “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” As Jesus began to
preach, He proclaimed the same thing; and when He sent the twelve they were to preach:
“Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” Many of Jesus’ parables began,
“The Kingdom of Heaven is like…” The Kingdom of God was even proclaimed at
Jesus’ suffering and death—though perhaps ironically rather than intentionally:
the soldiers mocked Jesus as king, even put a scepter in His hand, robed Him in
royal purple, and placed a crown of thorns on His head. And when Christ was
crucified, the accusation above His head declared that He was “guilty” of being
the King of the Jews.
Jesus’ resurrection had
demonstrated beyond a doubt that He is the Messiah. Now what? Would He bring back
the glory days of David and Solomon when the Kingdom of Israel was at its peak?
Even the select group of the apostles still had misunderstandings about the
Messiah’s purpose and the nature of God’s Kingdom.
Jesus’ Kingdom of God
was, and is, a kingdom like no other. The Kingdom of God is not a kingdom of this
world. It is not a kingdom of land and armies. It does not grow by conquest and
violence. It is not a political but spiritual kingdom. It is not limited to the
Jewish people but includes all believers—the spiritual Israel.
To understand the
simple truth of the Kingdom of God, go back to the sermon of John the Baptist:
“Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” Not “coming soon,” but “at
hand.” Why was the Kingdom of Heaven at hand when John preached this at the
Jordan? Because Jesus was there. Where this King is, there is His Kingdom. The
Kingdom of God is not a place but an activity, not God’s realm but His reign. God
rules in people’s lives by the preaching of repentance and the forgiveness of
sins (Luke 24:47).
So, Jesus taught about
the Kingdom of God during the forty days between His death and resurrection.
The apostles had been where Jesus was for three years of His public ministry.
They’d seen their King nailed to a cross and they’d assumed the worst. But now
they saw their risen King, nail-prints and all—the King who had conquered even
the kingdoms of death, devil, and hell. Jesus was with them. And where Jesus
is, that is where the Kingdom of God is found.[i]
Close to the ascension,
the disciples asked about the Kingdom: “Lord, will You at this time restore the
Kingdom to Israel?” They asked a “when?” question; Jesus gave them a “how
answer.” “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed
by His own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come
upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and
Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:7-8).
Notice: Jesus does not
say, “What are you talking about? I’m not restoring the Kingdom to Israel!”
Rather, He says, “Don’t you worry about timetables.[ii] That’s the Father’s
business.” That’s the “no” half of His answer. Then comes the “yes” half of His
answer: “Here is what has been given to you—to receive My Holy Spirit and
to bear witness of Me, at home and abroad.”
The Kingdom would
indeed be restored to Israel but in a greater way than the disciples imagined.[iii] Jesus reconstitutes,
restores, and recreates Israel in Himself. He is Israel-reduced-to-one. The
Kingdom has already been restored to Israel because by His death, resurrection,
and ascension, the Son of David has defeated every foe, liberated God’s people,
and now reigns as King of Israel.
But the Father is not
done yet! He will use the witnesses of Jesus, empowered by the Spirit, to take
this message to the entire world. Israel will not left behind, but the entire
world will be “Israelized.” I don’t mean ethnically or geopolitically. I’m not
referring at all to the modern state of Israel. I mean that wherever the Father
is worshiped in Spirit and truth, there is the true Israel, there is the
Kingdom, there the Messiah is reigning by grace. Not just in Jerusalem and
Judea but in Samaria and to the ends of the earth. Wherever God’s people gather
around Word and Sacrament, in that place, the Kingdom of God is at hand.
Then Jesus “was lifted
up, and a cloud took Him out of their sight” (Acts 1:9). He ascended into
heaven and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. As the prophet
Daniel had witnessed centuries before in a vision, “One like a Son of Man… came
to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. And to Him was given
dominion and glory and a Kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages
should serve Him” (7:13-14).
Jesus was lifted up,
body and all—received by a cloud out of their sight. The Messiah, the Son of
Man, came to His Father, the Ancient of Days, having accomplished the salvation
of humanity. And to Him was given a Kingdom that was to span the entire world—a
world to which His disciples would bear witness as they are clothed with the
Holy Spirit.
Then angels declared to
them, “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).
The heaven to which Jesus ascended is not the
realm of astronomers, the sky with its stars and planets. It is not a place
where He is confined or to which He has retired. It is the state of glory in
which He who shares our humanity enjoys all the power and glory that He had with
the Father from eternity.[iv] St.
Paul summarizes: God “raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand
in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and
dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in
the one to come. And He put all things under His feet and gave Him as head over
all things to the Church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all
in all” (Ephesians 1:20-23).
Our Savior did not retire when He ascended to
heaven. He has not deserted us. He is involved and He is in charge. The works of
the apostles and the Church in every generation are His doing. This work is not
only done for Him; it is done by Him. He will return from heaven
visibly, say the angels.
In the meanwhile, the apostles
and the rest of the believers were not on their own, apart from Christ, until
the King returned in glory. Remember, Jesus promised them that the Holy Spirit
would come upon them—this would happen at Pentecost. What does the Holy Spirit
do? He uses the Word of God to bring people to faith—and where the Word of God
is, you will also find Jesus—the Word made flesh. The Holy Spirit joins people
to Jesus’ death and resurrection in Holy Baptism—people are joined to Christ by
water and the Word: He is not far away, but promises He is with you to the end
of the age. And the Holy Spirit works to deliver Jesus’ body and blood for the
forgiveness of sins in the Holy Communion. In other words, the work of the Holy
Spirit is to bring Jesus to you. And where Jesus is, there the Kingdom of God
is found.
This is a treasure that
we gladly proclaim; and among Christians, we are best prepared to do so. See,
many Christians today believe that Jesus is only in heaven because He has a
human body, and the laws of physics dictate that a human body may only be in
one place at a time. But our Lord, the Creator of physics, is greater than the
laws of physics. So, for instance, when He says of bread and wine, “This is My
body and this is My blood,” we don’t say, “that’s physically impossible.” We
give thanks that Jesus is present with us, forgiving our sins and strengthening
our faith. The ascended Lord is not
confined simply to a place in heaven. He is still very much present with His
Church on earth, present even when He is not visible.
Jesus is here. And
where Jesus is, there is His Kingdom. That means that you are in His Kingdom
now. You don’t see it yet, but you’ve got His Word on it.
Other Christians
believe that Jesus will come back in glory, before the Last Day, and set up a
kingdom on earth that will last for a thousand years before He ends this world.
Like many in the first century, they expect the Messiah to set up a kingdom on
earth. This is a bad reading of the book of Revelation, and it has the
unfortunate effect of teaching that Jesus and His Kingdom are future things,
not present realities. But you know better: in His means of grace, Jesus is
here. And where Jesus is, there is His Kingdom.
So, the ascension of
Jesus gives you two great comforts.
On the one hand, Jesus
is ascended into heaven. He even took His body with Him—a testimony to you that
He will raise you from the dead—body and all—and deliver you to heaven, body
and all. Ascended into heaven, Jesus sits at the Father’s right hand and rules
all things for your good and the good of His Church. That’s a great comfort as
you endure the temptations and afflictions of this world.
This is
also a comfort: the same Lord Jesus Christ who is ascended into heaven is also
as near to you as His means of grace. He is with you—as near as His Word,
forgiving your sins and strengthening your faith. You don’t live as one who
someday hopes that you’ll be part of the Kingdom of God. You are part of the Kingdom
of God. You don’t see it yet: you will when the Lord returns in glory and
delivers us to heaven. But while you don’t see it yet, you are part of God’s Kingdom
even now. Why?
The Kingdom
of God is still at hand! Because the Kingdom is where Jesus is, and Jesus is
here in His means of grace. So, go in the peace of the Lord, serve your neighbor
with joy, tell the Good News of the Kingdom of God. For Jesus’ sake, you are
forgiven for all your sins.
In the
name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
Unless otherwise
indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English Standard
Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good
News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
[i] Acts 1:1-11 -
scholia,
https://gslcboise.org/scholia/files/sermons_sunday/44001001%20Acts%201%201-11%20The%20Kingdom%20of%20the%20Ascended%20King%20%28TJP%29.pdf.
[ii] The Gift of Being
Proven Wrong: The Ascension and Israelizing ... - 1517,
https://www.1517.org/articles/the-gift-of-being-proven-wrong-the-ascension-and-israelizing-the-world.
[iii] The Gift of Being
Proven Wrong: The Ascension and Israelizing ... - 1517,
https://www.1517.org/articles/the-gift-of-being-proven-wrong-the-ascension-and-israelizing-the-world.
[iv] The Ascension |
Northwestern Publishing House, https://blog.nph.net/the-ascension/.
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