3. Demonstrations from Passages at and after His Ascension into Heaven.

Demonstrations from Passages at and after His Ascension into Heaven.

III. Let’s now observe his behavior during his ascension; even that will further assure our hearts of this. Luk 24:50 states, "He lifted up his hands and blessed them." And to emphasize it, and for us to take note of it as having great significance, Luk 24:51 adds, "While he blessed them, he was parted from them and carried up into heaven." Christ reserved this benediction as his final act. Its meaning was to bless them, just as God blessed Adam and Eve, commanding them to "increase and multiply," and thus blessing all mankind who would come from them. In blessing his disciples, Christ blesses all those who will believe through their word until the end of the world. I only add this for further clarification: Peter interpreted this mystery in Acts 3:26 when he spoke to the Jews, saying, "To you first, God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you" (and how?) "in turning every one of you from your wicked ways," and thus forgiving them. For "blessed is the one whose sin is forgiven." This is a demonstration of his ascending.

IV. Next, let us consider what Christ did when he arrived in heaven and was exalted there. How abundantly did he fulfill all that he had promised in his last sermon!

Firstly, he immediately poured out his Spirit, and that "abundantly" (as the apostle to Titus says). "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," says the apostle in his first sermon after the ascension (Acts 2:33). Christ received the Spirit and visibly poured Him out. Additionally, in Eph 4:8, it is stated, "He ascended on high and gave gifts to men...for the work of ministry" (Eph 4:15), "...and for equipping the saints for the work of ministry" (Eph 4:16), that is, for the conversion of chosen sinners and making them saints. Some of the mentioned gifts still remain to this day in pastors and teachers. This Spirit is still present in our preaching and in your hearts, in hearing and in prayer. He persuades you of Christ’s love even to this day and serves as a pledge of the continuity of Christ’s love in heaven towards sinners. All our sermons and your prayers are evidence to you that Christ’s heart towards sinners remains the same as it has always been, for the Spirit, who assists in all these, comes in Christ’s name and works by His commission. Do any of you not feel your hearts moved when these things are preached at this and other times? And who is it that moves you? It is the Spirit who speaks in Christ’s name from heaven, just as Christ Himself is said to "speak from heaven" (Heb 12:25). When you pray, it is the Spirit who inspires your prayers and "intercedes for you" in your own hearts (Rom 8:26). This intercession of the Spirit is the evidence and echo of Christ’s intercession in heaven. The Spirit prays in you because Christ prays for you. He is an intercessor on earth because Christ is an intercessor in heaven. Just as he took Christ’s words and used them when he spoke to the disciples the words of life, he also takes from Christ’s prayers when he prays in us. He takes the very words, as it were, out of Christ’s mouth or rather heart, and directs our hearts to offer them up to God. He also accompanies us to the sacrament and, in that reflection, shows us Christ’s face smiling upon us, and through His face, His heart. By helping us see Him, we depart rejoicing that we saw our Savior that day.

Then, secondly, all those works, both miracles and the conversion of sinners in response to the apostles’ prayers, serve as evidence of this. Just consider the impact of Peter’s first sermon after Christ’s ascension, where three thousand souls were converted! The apostles, as you know, continued to preach forgiveness through Christ and in His name, inviting people to Him. And what signs and wonders accompanied their preaching to confirm it! All of these were the fruits of Christ’s intercession in heaven. Thus, what He promised in John 14:12, as proof of His concern for them in heaven, was abundantly fulfilled. Upon their request, they did "greater works than He" (John 14:12), as seen in Acts 4:29-30 during Peter’s prayers. In Heb 2:3-4, the apostle presents it as an argument, stating, "How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard Him, while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles." Additionally, consider this: the entire New Testament, with all its promises and expressions of Christ’s love, was written after Christ’s ascension, by His Spirit, and under His commission. Therefore, everything you find in it can be relied upon as His very heart. Through it, you can see that what He once said on earth, He does not retract a single word now that He is in heaven—His intentions remain unchanged. Reflecting on this can greatly strengthen our faith in this regard.

Thirdly, some of the apostles had conversations with Him even many years after His ascension. Both John and Paul, with the latter being in heaven with Him, testify to the same truth.

Paul did not hear a single sermon from Christ while on earth (at least not that he was aware of) and did not receive the gospel from any man, apostle or otherwise. Instead, he received it directly through the immediate revelation of Jesus Christ from heaven, as he states in Gal 1:11-12. His conversion came directly from Christ Himself, speaking and conversing with him from heaven, long after His ascension. In that one instance, Christ abundantly demonstrated His heart and His intention to extend salvation to all types of sinners until the end of the world. Paul declares this in two places. The first is in 1Ti 1:13, where he says, "I was a persecutor, a blasphemer, but I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ, overflowed for me." And based on this, he openly proclaims, as if from Christ Himself speaking from heaven, that this is "a trustworthy saying, deserving full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost" (1Ti 1:15). To demonstrate that this was precisely Christ’s purpose in converting Paul himself, and also Paul’s intention in that passage to Timothy, it becomes evident in what follows: 1Ti 1:16 states, "But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display His perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in Him for eternal life." It is explicit, you see, assuring all sinners until the end of the world of Christ’s heart towards them. This was the goal. "For this very reason..." says Paul. The second piece of evidence I present to support this is the account of Paul’s conversion, where he carefully includes the very words spoken to him by Christ from heaven (Acts 26:16-18). Christ said to him, "I have appeared to you for this purpose: to appoint you as a servant and witness...to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me." Brethren, these are the words of Christ since His ascent to heaven, and He tells Paul that He appeared to him to testify to these things. This is regarding Paul’s encounter with Him.

Furthermore, sixty years after His ascension, the apostle John received a revelation from Him, even after all the other apostles had died. For it was after their deaths that the book of Revelation was written, and it is said to be, in a more immediate sense, "the revelation of Jesus Christ" (Rev 1:1) compared to any other writings by the apostles. You read that Christ Himself appeared to John and said, "I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive forever and ever!" (Rev 1:18). Now let us consider Christ’s final words in this last book, the most recent words He has spoken since ascending to heaven and the words He will utter until the day of judgment. They can be found in Rev 22:16-17 : "I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David...The Spirit and the bride say, ’Come!’ And let the one who hears say, ’Come!’ Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life." I specifically cite these latter words in this context. The occasion for these words was as follows: Christ was now in heaven, having previously promised to return and take us all to heaven. In the meantime, observe the reciprocal calling and desire between Him in heaven and believing sinners on earth. Earth calls upon heaven, and heaven calls upon earth, as the prophet says. The bride on earth says to Christ, "Come to me," and the Spirit in the hearts of the saints below also says "Come" to Him. In response to their desire, Christ loudly cries out from heaven, "Come," inviting them to come to Him for mercy. They cannot desire His coming to them as much as He desires their coming to Him. Now, what does this mean, that upon their invitation for Him to come, He should likewise call upon them to come? In essence, it is as if He plainly expressed Himself in this way: "I have a heart to come to you, but I must have all My elect on earth come to Me first. You want Me to come down to you, but I must remain here until all those whom the Father has given Me come to Me. Then you can be sure that I will be with you quickly." This clearly demonstrates how much His heart longs for them. This meaning is evident from the words He adds in Rev 22:20 : "He who testifies to these things says, ’Surely I am coming soon.’" Furthermore, if we observe how these words of Christ are presented, almost incidentally, it makes them even more remarkable, highlighting His heart in uttering them. This book was primarily intended as a prophecy of the gospel era until His return. When John concluded that prophetic account, he portrays the bride longing for the coming of Christ: "The bride says, ’Come.’" And as soon as she utters these words, Christ, by way of response, also says "Come" to her. In fact, it is noteworthy that He had previously spoken the same words in Rev 21:6, yet He chooses to repeat them again and make them His final words. All of this demonstrates how much His heart is focused on inviting sinners to Him. When He is about to speak just one more sentence until the day of judgment, He specifically selects these words. Therefore, let them forever remain with you, as they are worthy to be your final thoughts when you face death or when you are about to go to Him. He does say something else afterward, but it serves to affirm these words and the rest of the Scriptures, of which this is the primary message. Moreover, to emphasize that these words were chosen as His last and that He intends not to speak further until the day of judgment, He adds a curse to anyone who "adds to them or takes away from them." Indeed, He does speak again after that, but it is merely to reiterate His willingness to come quickly if all His elect would come to Him (Rev 22:20). All of this assures us that this is truly His heart, and we will find Him of no other mind until His second coming. And to emphasize that these words were deliberately chosen by Him as His final words, so that they may remain with us, let me make another observation about them. It is this: on another occasion when He was on earth, He similarly singled out the very essence of these words as the conclusion of His preaching after many days. In John 7:37, it is written, "On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, ’Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.’" These words were spoken on the "last day of the festival," after which He would not preach to them anymore for a considerable time. He had already preached on all the preceding days of the festival, as was His custom. And on the "great day of the festival," when He had the largest audience, He chose this sentence as the conclusion of His last sermon. It was His parting gift to them, something for them to take home and ponder above all else. These were His words: "Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink." He Himself explains that this means believing in Him (John 7:38). He stood up and proclaimed it, even crying out with utmost fervor, so that everyone could hear it above all other sayings. Similarly, at this present time, when He will speak no more and will remain silent until the day of judgment, and when He will not write any more Scriptures, He sends His angel to testify that these are His final words, even though He had spoken them before. This was undoubtedly done to reveal His heart in these words. They were His last words then, and they shall be mine as I bring this discourse to a close, for what more can be added to them?