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Blasphemous and Absurd (Ascension Sunday 2024)
Grace Sensing on May 12, 2024
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Led Captivity Captive (Ascension Sunday 2018)

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Introduction

Today we are commemorating the Lord’s Ascension into Heaven, the time when He received universal dominion, absolute and unfettered, from the hand of His Father. But we must never forget that His Ascension is built on the bedrock of His Descent. We are told that He led captivity captive and gave gifts to men. One of those gifts is the privilege of imitating Him in this pattern—true glorification is always set on the granite foundation of sacrificial suffering.

The Text

“But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.) And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers…” (Eph. 4:7–11).

Summary of the Text

Notice what the bottom line in this passage is. We are talking about the Ascension of Christ, but this is the basis for the gift of Christ. Having ascended, He has given to each one of us grace according to the measure of His gift (v. 7). The Old Testament testifies to this (Ps. 68:18), saying that the Lord ascended on high, leading captivity captive, and gave gifts to men (v. 8). Paul reasons that if He ascended, He must first have descended (v. 9). But where? He says to the “lower parts of the earth,” which some take to mean His descent in the Incarnation. But Paul actually says “lower parts of the earth,” not “earth, the lower part of the cosmos.” Paul is arguing that the extent of the Lord’s glorification is commensurate with the depth of His humiliation, and refers to His descent into Hades, where He liberated all the Old Testament saints in His resurrection (leading captivity captive). So the one who descended is the one who ascended, in order that He might fill all things (v. 10). And when He gave gifts, what gifts did He give? He gave us men—apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor/teachers (v. 11). He gave us men who would follow the pattern set by Jesus.

Prerogatives of Power

The Lord who made Heaven and earth alone has the power to make the pathway between them. When Jacob dreamed of a great ladder to Heaven, he saw angels ascending and descending on it (Gen. 28:12). But when Jesus spoke to Nathanael, a man with less guile than Jacob apparently, He said that the angels would be ascending and descending upon the Son of man. He was the ladder, in other words (Jn. 1:51). He is the means of ascending and descending.

“Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? Who hath gathered the wind in his fists? Who hath bound the waters in a garment? Who hath established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son’s name, if thou canst tell?” (Prov. 30:4).

We worship a God who reveals Himself. When He comes down, when He descends, He then speaks. The Lord descends and the smoke ascends.

“And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly” (Ex. 19:18).

This is what happened at Sinai, when God brought the law. But this was not raw condemnation. We need to hear everything God says about His descending and ascending.

Christ is Always the Point

God came down on Mt. Sinai and delivered His law. But in that delivery, although we sometimes miss the point, God never misses the point. What is the point of the whole law? Christ is the point, purpose, or end of the law for everyone who believes.

“For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them. But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Rom. 10:4–10).

Christ can descend all by Himself. No one needs to go fetch Him, and no one could fetch Him. Christ was raised from the dead by the power of His Father and His Spirit, but He was not passive. He took His life up again (John 10:17). No one needed to go help.

Gut or Grace

Gut it out and fail, or grace it out and walk right in. The righteousness that is of the law talks this way. The man who does these things, this man is a doer of righteousness. Unfortunately, this man does not exist.

The righteousness that is of faith says that you shouldn’t and can’t go up to Heaven to get Christ. The righteousness that is of faith says that you shouldn’t and can’t go down into Hades to make Him rise from the dead. The reason is for this is that all of this has already happened. Why go do what has been done? Why go off to do what you couldn’t do anyway? The word of faith which we preach is the declaration that all of this has been done. What Christ said from the cross can also be said over every step of this glorious ladder between Heaven and earth. It is finished. That’s done. And now that. And now that. The last that is you in glory.

Christ has descended, first to earth, where He ascended the cross. Having ascended the cross, He descended to Hades. Having descended to Hades, He rose from the dead, and ascended into Heaven, where He now sits on the right hand of God the Father. This is your hope, this is your joy, this is your crown, this is your salvation. Walk in it.

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Finding Yourself (Ascension Sunday 2018)

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Ascension Sunday

The Text

21 From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. 22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” 23 But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. 28 Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.” (Mt. 16:21-28)

Introduction

Today is celebrated as Ascension Sunday throughout the Christian Church, marking the ascension of Jesus to the right hand of the Father as Lord and King of all. In an important sense, this celebration marks the day on which all that Jesus did in this world was fulfilled. He was born as Lord, lived as Lord, died as Lord, rose as Lord, but the ascension marks His enthronement as Lord. In this sense, we can speak of Jesus arriving where His entire life was aiming toward. Or using the language of our sermon text, in the ascension, Jesus found His life.

Summary of the Text

We pick up right after Peter’s famous confession of faith, and from that point Jesus began regularly saying that He was going to Jerusalem to die and rise again (Mt. 16:21). At some point, Peter, having so recently been praised for his correct answer about Jesus, begins rebuking Jesus for talking this way (Mt. 16:22). But Jesus says that this rebuke is a satanic temptation to prefer the things of man over the things of God (Mt. 16:23). Jesus says that His mission is to gain the glory of His Father, and He invites all men to follow Him in preferring these things over his own things, his own life, or even the whole world (Mt. 16:24-26). This path will be vindicated when Jesus comes in the glory of His Father and rewards men according to their works (Mt. 16:27-28).

Finding Yourself

In our world, we are bombarded with messages and advertisements for finding yourself, for finding happiness, success, fulfillment. And in many ways, what we are talking about is glory. Glory is how the Bible describes someone really shining, doing and being what they were created to be (Ps. 8:5). And this glory really is something unique, something without comparison, something different (Prov. 30:18-19). But in a random world, success and glory are necessarily random. Finding yourself is like winning the lottery. Therefore, in a random world, the mantra: be different! really is the best advice. While the odds may not technically be in your favor, if you know that the people with glory are different and unique, then you might as well start trying now. The funny thing is that the images and suggestions given are self-contradictory: be yourself and be different and buy this Coke, wear these clothes, have this phone plan, go organic (like everyone else). Jesus is interested in answering the same question, but He is refreshingly honest and straightforward. He knows that people can never find themselves all by themselves. Finding yourself, finding what you were made for is always found through following others. The only question is who are you following? Who are you trusting?

A Bad Bargain

Jesus says that we are naturally inclined to make deals with the devil, settling for more now in exchange for less later: more life now for less life later, more profit now for less profit later, more glory now for no glory later (Mt. 16:23-26). But this is to assume that there is no ultimate justice in the universe. It is fundamentally atheistic. Notice also that the Satanic offer isn’t the offer of sin on a platter full of worms. Satan comes in this episode in the voice of a close friend, a faithful disciple, and an apostle. As Paul says elsewhere, Satan transforms himself into an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14). False apostles, deceitful workers transform themselves into apostles of Christ (2 Cor. 11:13). Satanic ministers transform themselves into “ministers of righteousness” (2 Cor. 11:15). In other words, what Satan offers is typically some good thing. The bad deal is what that other good thing is taking you away from, what you are losing in the process. Satan is the thief who comes over to give you a welcome basket only to rob you. But Jesus says that the way to true life, profit, and glory is through following Him with a cross, losing your life for His sake, and being willing to forfeit the whole world (Mt. 16:24-26). One of the ways Christians get this wrong is by assuming that the way of Jesus must be whichever way looks worse. But that isn’t what Jesus says. He says to follow Him, to lose our lives for His sake. This means fundamentally that the way to find your life is through obedience. And what this means is leaning in. The pagan instinct is to pull away, to try to be different, but the way of Jesus is to follow.

A Few Different Applications

For young people, one of the temptations is to find yourself primarily in comparison with your parents. The temptation is to carve out your own space, to try to be different from your mom or your dad. But the fifth commandment is straight forward: honor your father and mother. Lean in, follow their example. Some of you come from broken families, and of course, you must not follow sinful examples. All of us have sinful fathers and mothers, but God knew about sin when He gave us the fifth commandment. Find what there is to honor, and honor it. Let your heart be free to embrace the gifts of your family. Lean in and find yourself.

One of the ways you know Jesus and Peter were friends is by this sharp confrontation and correction. “Faithful are the wounds of a friends, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful” (Prov. 27:6). “Rebuke a wise man, and he will love you” (Prov. 9:8). “As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend” (Prov. 27:17). Not wanting to offend or not wanting to let friends down can be some of the most powerful forces in the world, and in the name of friendship and kindness great evil can creep in. Are you trying to find yourself in your friendships? Or are you committed to following Christ in obedience no matter what?

Similar temptations can creep into young families or other new ventures, like a new second service. The temptation can be to zero in on the differences. In our family, what makes us who we are is that we don’t…  (fill in the blank) like our parents. In this new service, what makes us different is … But this is to buy into the world’s way of finding glory. You don’t find your identity by highlighting your differences. You don’t find yourself by strict conformity. You find yourself by following Jesus and following those who have followed Him well (1 Cor. 4:16-17). The point is that we are following Christ, obeying Christ together, trusting that this is the best investment in the world.

How did Jesus find Himself? He obeyed His Father. He knew His duty, and He could not be distracted by the offers of the devil. How did He do this? “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb. 12:2). He considered the joy of the glory of the Father, the fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore at His right hand (Ps. 16:11).

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Sermon #1936: Authority & Power

Ben Zornes on

INTRODUCTION:

We always mark and commemorate what we believe to be important. From birthdays to anniversaries, from independence days to holidays, we will take note. The issue, therefore, is what we find to be important. Attempts to banish this reality will only have the effect of selecting the wrong things to commemorate.

THE TEXT:

When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven (Acts 1:6-11).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT:

The disciples asked the Lord, now that He had conquered death, if he was going to restore the kingdom to Israel. Jesus replied that it was not for them to know the (eschatological) times or seasons, for that belonged to the Father. But He then said the disciples would receive power when the Holy Spirit came upon them. But before the power was given, the authority for that power had to be established, and that is what the Ascension is all about. Jesus was taken up into heaven until a cloud received Him. While they were looking up, two men appeared and asked why they were doing that. Jesus, who was taken up, will return in the same manner. Now note two central points that we learn from this passage. First, the end times are not our direct business. Second, heaven-gazing is not our business either. We do not escape to “the end,” and we do not escape “up.” Rather, in the meantime, our time on earth is defined by these realities.

NOT QUITE REFORMED?

For some, the logic is compelling. If we do not celebrate the festivals of Christ, then our year will be full of secular holidays. But if the logic is compelling, they somehow assume that this is a place where the Reformed tradition got it wrong. In other words, the strict regulative principle, as interpreted by some, says that we must not celebrate anything that is not directly commanded in Scripture. First, most importantly, this is not consistent with Scripture. But we should also note (incidentally) that it is not consistent with the history of the Reformed faith.

In the late medieval period, the calendar had become clogged with saints’ days, and this meant, of course, that meaningful commemoration became impossible. Try to imagine your family observing some kind of birthday celebration for someone every day. But when the Reformation was established, there was a strong desire to commemorate what really mattered. Under the

heading of “The Festivals of Christ,”the Second Helvetic Confession “highly approved”of the practice of religiously celebrating “the memory of the Lord’s nativity, circumcision, passion, resurrection, and of his ascension into heaven, and the sending of the Holy Spirit.” This was important because the definition and ownership of time belonged to the First Table of the Law.

AUTHORITY AND POWER:

Authority without power is meaningless and impotent. But power without authority is manipulative or tyrannical. And this is why the doctrine of the Ascension is so important. Without it, attempts at evangelization are bound to degrade into various forms of deception, manipulation, or coercion.

AUTHORITY:

The Scriptures settle this question, beyond all question.

First, the Ascension was prophesied by Daniel. “I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a king- dom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed” (Dan. 7:13-14).

We see the same thing in the second Psalm. “I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession” (Ps. 2:7-8).

Jesus assumes it in His Great Commission. “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power [exousia, authority] is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen” (Matt. 28:18-20).

And the early Christians understood it this way. “Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power” (1 Cor. 15:24).

JESUS IS LORD:

And this is why we must return, again and again, to the basic Christian confession of faith, which is that Jesus is Lord. This does not assume a fragmented universe, with Christ put in charge of some of the pieces. Jesus is Lord is the basic personal confession, but it is only true and sound because it is the cosmic confession. In other words, Jesus saves the individual only because He has been given authority over heaven and earth.

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Ascension Humility (Ascension Sunday 2015)

Joe Harby on

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Introduction

On Ascension Sunday, we mark and remember the coronation of the Lord Jesus Christ. This crowning was the coronation of the ultimate example of humility. Now the Bible teaches us that in Christ, we are kings and priests (Rev. 1:6; 5:10). We will rule with Him, and in Him (Rev. 2:26-27). And the Scriptures also teach that our path to our little thrones will be just like His path to His great throne (2 Tim. 2:12). This means that we need to make a point of studying what actual humility is like, and how it actually desires what God promises us.

The Text

“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:5–11).

Summary of the Text

We are told in the previous verse that our gaze should be outward—we are not to spend our time gazing on our “own things,” but rather on the “things of others” (v. 4). In doing this, we are not starting from scratch. We should have a mind within us that was previously in Christ Jesus (v. 5). If pressed for an explanation of what He did, Paul explains that though he was in the form of God (morphe, characteristic shape), He did not consider His equality with God something that He should grasp (v. 6). Rather, He emptied Himself and took the form (morphe) of a servant, that servant form being the likeness of men (v. 7). And being found in human shape (schema), He humbled Himself to the point of death on a cross (v. 8). As a consequence of this great act of obedience, God has exalted Him highly and given Him a name that is above every name (v. 9). The result of this gift is that at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow—in Heaven, on earth, and under the earth (v. 10). Every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, and this in turn will redound to the glory of God the Father (v. 11).

Humility is Ambitious

If God did not want us to be motivated by thought of reward, then why did He offer so many of them? In this passage, God sets before us the exaltation of Jesus, pointing to that as part of the story. When we are told to imitate Him in His humility, we are being directed to the glorious destination of all such humility. Jesus didn’t tell us to ban seats of honor at weddings; He taught us a trick for how to get into them (Luke 14:7-11). But there is a trick within the trick. The trick is that we have to die. Jesus didn’t say to rip out the chief seats in the synagogues—He pointed out the inglorious behavior of those who loved those seats (Luke 20:45-47). He promised us long life in the land if we honored our fathers and mothers (Eph. 6:1-4). But we have to pursue our inheritance of land the way He instructs (Luke 14:25-26; Mark 10:29-31). So we honor our fathers and mothers rightly by hating them rightly.

So humility is defined by what we are ambitious for, and not by whether we are ambitious. Those who pretend to want nothing at all are those who have entered on a deep course of self-deception. “Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God” (John 12:42–43, ESV). There are two, and only two, possibilities for us. We will either love the glory that arises from man, or we will love and seek after the glory that comes from God. We were created to pursue glory, and so we can do nothing else. Because we are fallen, it is easy to pursue the wrong kind of glory—but the problem is not that it is glorious, but rather because, at the end of the day, it is not glorious.

“Who will render to every man according to his deeds: To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath” (Rom. 2:6–8).

In short, there is a way of striving for glory, seeking it, that is not self-seeking. It is to follow the path that Jesus established.

So Humility is Not Craven

Humility is a perfection of grace, and so it is not surprising that the devil wants to counterfeit it. Just as he offers counterfeit glory, so also he offers a counterfeit path for getting there. But true humility does not crawl; it is not a quadruped. C.S. Lewis captured the biblical view perfectly when he said this: “True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.” Remember our text—we are to be thinking of the things of others. That is not the same thing as thinking of our “own things,” provided we do it with a morbidly self-critical eye. The egoistic self has an enormous gravitational pull; it is an ego-centric black hole. And so it is that we find the possibility of someone thinking about himself all the time, and believing for that entire time that he is being humble. But this self-focus is arrogance and pride, not humility. If you are in the center of that little television screen in your brain all the time, it does not matter if you see a creeping little worm or a glowing celebrity. The problem is pride.

Back to the Ultimate Example

Jesus did what He did for the joy that was set before Him (Heb. 12:2). The glory that Jesus now has is the glory that we have been promised. We are not told to wait and think about something else until the glory is dropped on top of us. No, we are told, commanded, summoned, to pursue that glory. And that is how we can understand affliction rightly. The Puritan Thomas Bridges said it well when he said that affliction is nothing but a dirty lane leading to a royal palace. And that lane is one that Jesus walked down, and He summons us to pursue glory by following after Him.

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