And its why the writer of Hebrews concludes, Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to intercede for them (Hebrews 7:25). As his subjects, lets not be so self-absorbed that we miss our part in that grand plan. - Isaiah 11:2, The Holy Spirit abode upon Jesus in all His fullness and the words He spoke in consequence were the very words of God. We can always find grace to help us when we need it most (Hebrews 4:16; 7:19, 27). Why did Jesus have to leave for the Holy Spirit to come? Col 1:26-29 Christ in you the hope of glory. Those people would have to believe their words (John 17:20) to be justified by faith. 2 It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; 3 As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore. A few days later, we see Peter proclaiming the death, resurrection and ascension of Christ. People would say, "You're not holy until you've actually met and talked to Jesus himself." Hebrews 7:17, 21, 28, The oil signifies the Holy Spirit - the parable of the wise and foolish virgins & Zechariah 4 - So The anointing of Christ was needed before Holy Spirit was poured. Psalms 68:18, From the same verse we can see that the promise of the Holy Spirit is refered as gifts - This refers to the Gifts that the Spirit of God gave to the Apostles, Jesus had to receive it from the Father - So the gifts could only be given after Jesus ascended to Heaven. Ascension, in Christian belief, the ascent of Jesus Christ into heaven on the 40th day after his Resurrection (Easter being reckoned as the first day). That means we dont have to manipulate and that we can be confident that some people will in fact respond. Help us to truly take to heart all that you said about the Holy Spirit as our counsellor. "He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living waterthe Holy Ghost was not yet given", I don't see how this answers the question, "Why did Jesus have to go in order for the Holy Spirit to come?". The Son is standing in heaven as our great advocate to plead our case before the Father. What Is the Thorn in the Flesh Paul References in 2 Corinthians 12:7? successful in it, that being attended with the demonstration of the Now it came to pass, while he blessed them, that he was parted from them and carried up into heaven. Place Of Waiting? instances of conversion, which the apostles were instrumental in, and Why Did Jesus Ascend Bodily to Heaven? - The Gospel Coalition Billy Grahams Answer, Is Heaven a Literal Place? Notice that after the resurrection, Jesus only spends time with those who believed in Him before His death. This does not imply any insufficiency in what Jesus did in his saving work on the Crossonly that this completed sacrifice was always intended to be followed by another step in the process, which was bearing his sacrifice into the true Holy of Holies. Once that was done, He could return and they could "receive the Holy Ghost" when He breathed on them. So the main idea here is not that Jesus has to ascend after his resurrection, but that he needs to die, in order to send the Spirit. Help us continue to bring the Gospel to people everywhere through uplifting and transformative Catholic news, stories, spirituality, and more. For him they had become inseparable chapters in the gospel story (Acts 2:22-36). It gave them confidence to be Christs witnesses to the ends of the earth. The Holy Spirit is God. Do we love him too, do we really grasp the powerful meaning of the ascension in our lives? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven (Acts 1:11). This is why the person who is least in the kingdom of God has a better opportunity than the greatest OT prophets (Matthew 11:11) because they can be regenerated and empowered by the Holy Spirit in a way that was not available before the atonement and the ascension. We don't need to travel for miles to hear Jesus preach or have him heal us. It's w." Dr. Scott Hahn once noted that the Ascension is one of the most underrated feasts in the liturgical year.. After the crucifixion and resurrection, in the upper room, Jesus breathes on them and says "receive ye the Holy Ghost" (John 20:22). The disappearance-and-return narrative of the Ascension and Second Coming thus ceases to be something odd or surprising. Are you asking for a trinitarian answer? Luke 24:50-53 ~"When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? Then he would emerge, coming back down through the cloud of incense in the same way the crowds had seen him leave, bearing the assurance of salvation back to the people of God. Certainly not! As he had promised, the power of the Holy Spirit carried it forward. How convenient that the supposedly risen Messiah should vanish without showing himself to anyone other than his friends and family! I Believe in Jesus Christ Who Ascended Into Heaven So I am explaining Why Holy Spirit was poured abundantly after the ascention of Jesus, Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell among them. The Spirit was "to be" in them (future tense) as well. What exactly happened at Christs ascension? Contact Us. (It isn't very good procedure though). Lets lift our eyes to heaven and see Christ the king orchestrating his great redemption mission to the ends of the earth. What about the next step of the ritual? It is presented both at the end of Matthews Gospel and at the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles. While the Holy of Holies was merely an earthly representation of the heavenly reality, Jesus enters the heart of that realityinto the very presence of the Father. On the eve of His crucifixion while still in the Upper Room, the Lord Jesus said to the disciples, "The Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.". What are these planes and what are they doing? Hebrews 610 paints a picture of the scene enacted when Jesus made his entrance into the presence of God, drawing on Day of Atonement imagery to portray Jesus as both the offering and the offerer. So when the early Christian writers said, "He descended to hell," or "He descended to the dead," that's what they meant. By clicking Accept all cookies, you agree Stack Exchange can store cookies on your device and disclose information in accordance with our Cookie Policy. He wanted to give. A qualified attorney and teacher, Rosies ambition is to broadcast Christs good news of salvation and inspire Christians to love and be shaped by Gods Word. Early binding, mutual recursion, closures. He is God -- with all the attributes of deity. Because Jesus rose from the dead with a physical body, every Christian has the guarantee of his own bodily resurrection ( John 5:21, 28; Romans 8:23 ). When that day comes, we should be ready. about preaching the Gospel, not in Judea only, but in all the world; The story of Christianity in Africa, begun in a quiet corner of Alexandria, Egypt, in the first century, is now a global movement changing the world. He prays for us as we face troubles in this world (John 17:20; 24; 26). Acts 1:6-12 ~ Then they gathered around him and asked him, Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel? He said to them: It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. Listen to Peters bold conclusion: For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, until I make your enemies your footstool.. As Joel Green, a New Testament scholar specializing in Lukes writings, comments, Luke presents the exaltation (i.e., resurrection & ascension) as thesalvific event.[i]. be with us for ever; he will remain with us. After He ascended into Heaven, angels promised the Apostles that He would return in a future day in glory. expediency of Christ's death for the mission of the Spirit to his It is the moment when every knee will bow to Christ as Judge and King. First, His body was different from our physical bodies even though it was flesh and bone (Luke 24:39). The woman at the well in Samaria ran into something similar (John 4:39-42). The latter reads as follows. Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of While Jesus is not visibly present in the Eucharist (though on some occasions he does reveal himself), he is truly present in the Eucharist, in the same way that he was present in Jerusalem. So we can boldly draw near to God in prayer. In many ways, Christ's ascension does the same thing for the Christian faith. But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. Acts 1: Jesus Christ Ascends into Heaven - The Church of Jesus Christ Even though it would cost them their lives. The Spirit will teach us All rights reserved. 3. was deaf to the threatenings of the law, and to the charming voice of Stack Exchange network consists of 182 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers. temporarily to indwell certainly individuals for special ministries. Why? Notice that the prophecy does not show the Messiahs rule beginning with an earthly reign, but quite specifically with a heavenly one. The theological implication here is that the Ascension was the next necessary step in the ritual after the Cross. 659). Last of all, Jesus ascended into Heaven so that we might have the gift of his presence in the Eucharist. But Paul is the one who wrote that we are justified by faith (Romans 5:1) so that perhaps he had the opportunity to reject the vision of Christ He received on the road to Damascus but instead responded by calling Jesus "Lord" (Acts 9:6). Come, Lord Jesus. your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God It is Christs coronation, which is a big deal if were his subjects. Another reason, however, why Jesus stayed on earth then was to teach His disciples, and prepare them for the task of telling the world about Christ. Some take this to mean Christ's disciples would do things greater in kind than Christ, but I'm inclined to agree with Gill that it has to do with greater number: The apostles, in a long series of time, and course of years, went The Ascension of Jesus: What It Is, Why It's Often Overlooked & More He is now far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come (Ephesians 1:21-22). Christ paid for our sins with his life and has ascended into heaven. So then from now on we acknowledge no one from an outward human point of view. that there is no distance between the Son and the Spirit. The Ascension of Christ and His Glorified Existence | EWTN everything, remind us of all that Christ said to us and bear witness Its what we still see today and will see until the end of the age. The Lords Supper Is a Multiethnic Love Feast, Nondenominational Churches Are Growing and Multiplying in DC, Transgender Teens, Pronouns, and Preferred Names: Youth Pastors Grapple with New Questions, We Believe in the Power of the Gospel, Not the Gospel of Power, Biden Administration Drops HHS Transgender Mandate, Complete access to articles on ChristianityToday.com, Over 120 years of magazine archives plus full access to all of CTs online archives. prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall How Does the Bible Teach Us to Handle Anxiety? We are meant to be with Him in Heaven, if we love Him and follow His commandments. - John 3:34, After His resurrection, Jesus Christ gave commandment unto His Apostles whom He had chosen through the Holy Spirit.- Acts 1:2, Jesus Christ wrought His miracles here on earth in the power of the Holy Spirit. There isn't an answer beyond that the promise of the coming Holy Spirit would be fulfilled following Jesus' Death and Resurrection and his prayer to the Father. What a blessing to have a mission beyond ourselves! It may be that the authority to send or the ability to send was among those things that were set aside when Jesus was born and he needs to ascend back to heaven to regain them; Philippians 2:7 But stripped Himself [of all privileges and rightful In Matthews Gospel, the last injunction is similar: Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. The ascension of Jesus was also the climatic, crowning event of his exaltation and the necessary precursor to his continuing work through the Spirit and the church. He did this by ascending into Heaven and taking His place at the right hand of His Father. Billy Grahams Answer, Will We Have to Work in Heaven? It gave them confidence to be Christs witnesses to the ends of the earth. How many ways are there to solve the Mensa cube puzzle? Lord, we sometimes feel afraid and a little lost at this time of crisis. First, consider the royal angle. There are two things to remember about this mystery. 2023 BGEA . I would like to add the following points too: Jesus had a work to do in the Heavenly Sanctuary: Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. To share this article with your friends, use any of the social share buttons on our site, or simply copy the link below. He goes before us, and we are to follow Him there. Ancient peoples, including Jews and early Christians, believed that your body was buried or disposed of in various ways and your soul departed to the place of the dead. In that vision, the Son of Man, surrounded with clouds, approaches the throne of the Ancient of Days and is given the dominion of an everlasting kingdom.