What about the resurrection?

The resurrection is the reason we believe in Jesus. In the New Testament, Paul often spoke of the Good News of the Gospel. In 1 Corinthians, Paul wrote, “For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” The message proclaimed was simple: Christ died on a cross, yet lives today and will never die again.

The entire substance of New Testament teaching is grounded in the reality that Jesus is breathing.

Jesus’ resurrection is the reason we have faith – the ground on which Paul preached throughout Asia and the ground on which we tell people about Jesus today.

Though the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the crux of our salvation, the ascension of Christ to His heavenly throne is no less important for believers. All the acts of Jesus’ ministry were necessary for believers to truly have a hope of a bright future grounded in Christ’s work.

Why does the Ascension Matter?

In the ascension three big things happened to ensure we have a future hope.

1. Jesus is seated on His throne, reigning and ruling over His creation.
2. Jesus is pleading with the Father on our behalf.
3. Jesus is bodily in the presence of the Father.

Jesus’ Reign

He is the resurrected, ascended Lord, seated at the right hand of the Father, coronated now as the enthroned King and taking dominion over not only this world, but the cosmos. His ascension was the public celebration of His victory over death – He would not die again.

Jesus is seated on His throne. This means He would send the gift of the Holy Spirit to dwell in us. This means He would send the gift of repentance and forgiveness. This means His work on earth is not yet completed, but is ours to continue by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus’ Pleading

We have often said that Jesus is the only mediator between us and God, but we must realize that this is only possible because He is seated on His throne and present with the Father. In Romans 8 we read that “the Spirit intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” These groanings, the prayers we truly need to pray are lifted, by the Spirit, to the Son and are then presented to the Father. It seems overly complicated, yes, but it means we have the ability to cry out to God, give thanks to God, ask things of God, and praise God with no barriers.

Jesus’ Body

Jesus being bodily in the presence of the Father might seem like no big deal at first glance, however when you look at what it means for the future of humanity it is a big deal! In Genesis 1-2 human beings walked with God, spoke openly with God, and were fully present with God. Then comes Genesis 3…man failed and Adam and Eve were thrown out of the garden and were cursed; as you would imagine this created a big divide between us and God. From that moment we were no longer able to bear the glory of God without dying. Exodus 33:20 says, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” This is a drastic change from Genesis 1-2.

But, Jesus was sent to earth and took on flesh. He lived a perfect life of obedience to the Father. He died the death we deserved to pay the price we could not pay. He rose to life, defeating sin and death and providing us with eternal life. And then He ascended bodily to the Father’s side. This means there is now a human being present with the Father – seeing His face. This means human beings can once again be in the very presence of God without dying. This means our physical eternity (new heaven and new earth) is a hope that we can truly hold onto. God with man and man with God for all of eternity!

There is so much more I could say, but wanted to keep this brief. Below I have written a poem to say these things in a slightly different way.

Seated on His Throne
By Cameron Beidler

Walking with You, seeing Your face

     Everything good to see and taste

All but one tree, You said, “Don’t eat”

—–

The serpent’s words came, cleverly framed

     Things he spoke would lead us to shame

When we ate our spirits sank

—–

Serving creature over crafter

     The goodness of earth, now disaster

We no longer, no longer see Your face

—–

How can we be together in Your presence?

How can we be together face to face?

How can we be together at Your table,

for Your glory is more than we can take?

—–

In Your mercy, for Your justice,

     the root of Jesse sprouted for us –

The Son of God in flesh was born.

—–

Fully God and fully human,

     the King of glory sent to open

the gates to Kingdom come.

—–

From the grave He rose in body

     and now ascended into glory;

a human, a man is in Your midst.

—–

Now we can be seated in Your presence.

Now we can be forever face to face.

Now we can be feasting at Your table

because our Savior is seated on His throne.

—–

We will worship, we will praise,

     lifting high Your holy name.

Jesus is risen and He is reigning in His place.

—–

We can pray, we can trust,

     knowing that You are for us.

Jesus is risen and He is reigning in His place.

—–

Soon we will be seated in Your presence!

Soon we will be forever face to face!

Soon we will be feasting at Your table

because our Savior is seated on His throne!