Title: Jesus! you ascended
Contents
Text Acts 1:6-11
If you go to the Holy Land, the Holy Land, Israel, you can find a lot of biblical, archaeological, and historical relics. One of them is the Memorial Chapel, which was built when Christianity was revived and had power. Among the six memorial chapels built on the Mount of Olives, the Ascension Memorial Chapel was built around AD 380 by the Turkish Emperor in a Muslim-style architectural style on the Mount of Olives. The unusual thing is that there is no ceiling (roof) and only walls, and during the event, a large-scale roof was made and a device was installed to block the sunlight, but the roof was later covered. Inside the small octagonal building, the footprints of Jesus, which are said to have been formed when Jesus ascended into heaven, are clearly visible.
Today is Ascension Day, commemorating the ascension of Jesus 40 days after His resurrection. As an event that occurred at the time of His Resurrection and His 10th appearing, we would like to share the grace of Jesus by looking for some meanings of His ascension.
1. The ascension of Jesus is the completion of the resurrection.
After 40 days, the resurrected Jesus ascended to heaven and ascended to heaven. This signifies the completion of the resurrection. The completion of the resurrection is that the resurrected Jesus did not remain in this world forever, but ascended to the spiritual kingdom, where there is no sin, no hate, no death, and no pain, in a spiritual body. The event that signifies that Jesus who came in the flesh took off his body, that Jesus took the place of sin, took away the sins of Jesus, and that the resurrected Jesus was completely victorious, is what the 500 members of Olives saw This is the case of ascension.
2. Jesus' ascension speaks of eternal victory.
Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead on the third day and appeared to his disciples several times. Jesus, who was resurrected for 40 days, appeared in various forms, exhorted his disciples, and ascended into heaven to show that he is the Lord of eternal victory. Verse 19: “He sat at the right hand.” According to the original language, the prophecy of κ θισεν κ δεξιων του θεου (Ekadyssen ek dexion to deu) He would sit on the right hand was already prophesied by Jesus in Matthew 26:14, 'The Son of Man will sit at the right hand of the Father's throne.' It is also mentioned in the testimony of Stephen Deacon in Acts 7:56-60. “I see Jesus at the right hand of God.” Here, “at the right hand” means sharing in the power and glory of God, and through the death and resurrection of the cross, Jesus, who has conquered the devil, who has held the power of the air in the world, is seated on the throne of heaven and reigns. means that Therefore, the ascension of Jesus is, in a word, the complete victory of Jesus.
3. The ascension of Jesus speaks of the fulfillment (fulfillment) of prophecy.
Originally, Jesus followed the words of prophecy of the Old Testament prophets, lived by fulfilling the words of prophecy, and died on the cross when he said “It is finished” (John 19:30). As in verse 19, “He was taken up into heaven,” Jesus returned to the place he came from. The place where you came from and the place where you died is the kingdom of heaven. This is the fulfillment of prophecy. What have you accomplished? You have fulfilled all the words of prophecy. Jesus also prophesied about his own ascension into heaven, but in John 6:6, “What if the Son of Man ascends to the place where he was before?” And he fulfilled that prophecy. Not only that, but Heavenly Father fulfilled all the prophecies that He had prophesied through His disciples. If you look at the typical examples of what He accomplished, ① he said that he would come and came, ② he said that he died and saved him, and he died, ③ he rose again and then rose again, ④ he ascended into heaven and ascended into heaven, and ⑤ he said that he would come again, so he will come.
4. Jesus' ascension means that he returned to the place he came from.
The kingdom of Jesus was not in this world, but in that heaven. So Jesus preached about the kingdom of God at every opportunity. That is the hometown of Jesus. John 20:18 When he appeared to Mary, he said, “I am ascending to my Father and your Father.” Philippians 2:6 “He is in the original form of God” Yes. His throne is in heaven. But he went down to the stables. However, he couldn't stay in this world forever. That is why John 14:2 said, "In my Father's house there are many dwelling places, and I have received you as Me..." and taught that the place where the Lord lives and where the believers who believe in Him will live is also the kingdom of heaven. The human body comes from the dust and returns to the dust. However, since the human spirit has come to God, it must return to God. So, Hymn 290, “My hometown, the kingdom of heaven,” is not underground. I hope you put your hopes in heaven.
5. The ascension of Jesus presupposes that He will come again.
Acts 1:10-11 The scene of the ascension of Jesus appears. As Jesus ascended into heaven, a cloud covered them and two men in white robes said: “This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come even though you have seen him go into heaven.” That's right. The Old Testament prophesied of the first coming Jesus. Messiah will come. Come. The coming of Jesus was prophesied, and the New Testament testified that Jesus had come. Jesus is the Father of God. He is the long-awaited Messiah. The conclusion of the Old Testament and the New Testament is Jesus who will come again.
Revelation 22:12 “Behold, I am coming soon, and my reward is with me, to repay each one according to what he has done.”
Verse 20 says, “Surely I am coming soon.” “Amen! Come, Lord Jesus.”
Ok. At that time, Christians had a promise that the resurrected Lord would come again when he ascended into heaven, so they devoted themselves to keeping their faith and evangelizing them, and they lived in anticipation of Jesus who would come again. How much will Jesus be pleased today if we too can get away from the life of earning a lot of money, pursuing peace and happiness, and hope for the Second Coming of Jesus, and focus on keeping our faith and evangelism?
We must hope for Jesus to come again. Then you can preach Jesus. We must hope for Jesus to come again. Then you can lead a good life of faith. We must hope for Jesus to come again. Then you can wear a reward, a crown. I bless you in the name of Jesus that you will win even one week. Amen.
Hallelujah!!!