sacrifice

July 29 –  Pentecost! Then What Did They Do? — Acts #6

David Chupp Acts , , , , , ,

July 29 –  Pentecost! Then What Did They Do? — Acts #6
Acts 2:42-47

At Pentecost, after the presence of God descended on the people and Peter preached a sermon, the people reacted and asked a question:  What should we do?  Peter tells them to “Repent, be baptized, and receive the Holy Spirit.”   3000 people responded and were baptized in the mikveh pools at the Temple entrance.  What happened with those 3000 new followers of Jesus and the 120 disciples?  Then what did they do?

Acts 2:42-47   And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

“They devoted themselves to the apostle’s teaching.” Now we understand the concept of devotion, but this is actually something more than that.  Let’s look at that verse in several different translations.  You can do this easily on the internet. Just type in the verse, “Acts 2:42” and the words “bible hub”. 

And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.  (KJV)
And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.  (NASB)

The Greek word here is ‘proskartereō’, which is the word ‘kartereo’, which means ‘to be devoted’, but it adds the prefix ‘pros’, which means ‘going toward.’  This is above-and-beyond dedication that makes other devotions look half-hearted.  Literally, they pushed themselves toward a firm devotion to the apostle’s teaching.

They were on the edge of their seats.  They were hungry to know more.  Remember that all of these people were devout Jews who had gathered in Jerusalem for the one-day religious festival of Pentecost.   They had come from all over the known world.  Most of them knew very little to nothing about Jesus except what they heard from this one sermon of Peter.  Jesus spent almost all of his ministry outside of Jerusalem.  Very few outside of Galilee had heard his teaching.  They had a life-changing experience that day.  They were told the messiah they and their ancestors had prayed for for hundreds of years had arrived.  They needed to know more before they went home.  So many of those 3000, if possible, would have remained in Jerusalem to learn more about this Messiah.

So they hung on every word the disciples said.  They didn’t want to miss a moment of teaching.  How does this compare to people today?  Do we see that hunger for the knowledge of Jesus today?  Are we on the edge of our seats in church, eagerly listening for more information about Jesus? Do we get excited about our personal daily study of the Bible?  Or do we feel like we know all we need to know?  Have we had enough Jesus?

Do you remember when you first came to Jesus?  Were you excited to know more then?  Did that excitement fade, and if so, why?   I remember hearing two deacons in a church talking about a young man who had just come to Christ and was constantly asking questions about he church and scripture.  And one man tells the other, “Oh, don’t worry, he’s a new Christian, he will get over it.”

Have you gotten over it?  I have been in church all my life.  I have heard thousands of Sunday School lessons and sermons.  But I haven’t always had this hunger to know more as I do today.  I believe that a person’s desire to pray and study the scripture is a measure of how their relationship with Jesus is going.  The closer we are to God, the more we want to spend time with him in prayer and the more we want to know His word.  So let’s all do a little self-inventory this morning.  How is our personal relationship with God right now?  Is it where you want it to be?  Do you have that hunger to know Him more and know more of HIm?  Or have you gotten over it?

Back to our scripture:   “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship… What is “the fellowship”?  ‘Fellowship’ is a very ‘churchy’ word.  It is not the word you choose to describe the crowd at a baseball game or a party.  Churches talk about having ‘fellowship’ after the service.  They have a “fellowship hall”.  Our minds go instantly to having a meal.   And a meal can be part of the fellowship, but that is not all of what it means to Luke.

The Greek word there is ‘koinōnia,’ which is only sometimes translated ‘fellowship.’  Koinōnia describes a participation with others, sharing the work with them, and sharing the fruits of their labors together.  Look at how this word is translated in other verses:

Philippians 1:3-5  I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.
Romans 15:26  For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem.
Philippians 3:10  that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death

We see koinōnia translated as a ‘partnership’, a monetary donation to the poor, and a participation with Jesus in his suffering.  

Some look at this passage in Acts 2 and get hung up on the idea that they had everything in common and sold land if others needed help, as if they gave no thought to the idea of personal property.1  They did share their food, prayers, and resources.  Remember that some of these were just visitors to Jerusalem for the festival from other countries who had stayed in Jerusalem longer than they had anticipated, in order to learn more about Jesus.  They needed a place to stay and resources while they were there until they returned home.   So the followers from Jerusalem made room in their homes. If someone was in need, the others gave them what they needed and sold some of their possessions or land if necessary to raise the money.   They joined together as partners in worship, in witnessing, in prayer, and in sharing meals together.  They became family.  Koinonia, fellowship.  Jesus said, “By this, people will know that you are my disciples.  If you love one another.” (John 13:35).

So ‘fellowship’ is not just eating and having a good time.  It is joining with others as partners to share the work of the gospel, with each contributing as they are able, suffering together, and enjoying the fruits of their labor together.  We need to grasp this concept within our local congregations and beyond.  One example above of koinonia was Paul collecting money for the people in Jerusalem.  There was a famine affecting them, and other groups of followers gave Paul money to deliver to them to help buy food.   And these other house churches in Asia Minor were happy to contribute to the needs of these followers in Judea, because they were all part of the same family.  This is how we should view our sister churches that exist all around us.  We are partners in the Gospel.

The small church I attend is blessed to have several large, strong congregations in our community.  Two of them are doing an incredible job of reaching out to young people and young families in this community.  I had the opportunity last week to thank both of those pastors for what their church is doing that our small congregation could never do.  We don’t have the staff or facilities to do those things, but we need to reach out and seek ways we can partner with those sister churches and use our resources to assist them in some way, because all of these churches are on the same team.  We all wear the same color jerseys.   I have seen places where churches seem to be in competition with one another, trying to outdo each other as if we are on opposing teams.  We need to encourage koinonia – partnership in the gospel.  

In Acts 2:42, Luke specifies one aspect of their fellowship as the “breaking of bread”. They came and ate together, sharing their food so that no one would go hungry.  There is something special about eating a meal with someone to create a bond.  Now, this is the part of the fellowship we understand — the meal.  However, we need to expand our horizons a bit again. You realize that these over 3000 people are not meeting together in a building.  They didn’t have a building.  They met in each other’s homes, using their house as a tool for the gospel.  You can use your home and your dinner table as a tool to connect to people.  Invite people into your home to build relationships.  Do not underestimate the importance of hospitality as a ministry.  (In a few weeks, we will walk you through the Bible and see how much God values hospitality.)  There are enough unchurched people in your community to fill up every pew in every church in your community many times.  I challenge you to invite someone to your home or out to eat a meal.  Show them what koinonia is all about.  Show them you are a disciple by your love for them, simply by sharing a meal.2

The other specific aspect of ‘fellowship’ that Luke mentions is “the prayers.”  What prayers?  They were taught to pray as Jesus taught the disciples to pray.  The prayer that we call the “Lord’s Prayer” or the “Our Father” prayer.   And they continued to pray the prayers they had been praying all their lives.  There were two prayers (the Shema and the Amidah) that every devout Jew (including Jesus and the disciples) would pray several times a day. 

We are told in Acts 2:46 that they were attending temple services every day.  And Luke in the next chapter tells us about an incident that happened with Peter and John as they were going to the 3:00 pm prayer service in the Temple. 

Acts 3:1  Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.

Does it surprise you that they are still praying these Jewish prayers and are still attending worship in the Temple?  Wait!  Aren’t they Christians now?  Why are they worshipping in the Jewish Temple?

They are Jews.  They have not changed religions.  They have not abandoned the God they worshiped all their lives.  The only scripture they have to read is the one they have always had, the Tanakh (what we call the Old Testament).  All their life, they had kept the Torah.  Throughout their lives, they had praised God in the temple and brought sacrifices.  All their life, they had prayed for the time when their Jewish Messiah would come.  The only difference now is that they have found the Messiah they had been waiting for so long. If you asked any one of these 3120 what their religion was, they would say ‘Jewish.’  They are Jewish people who are excited to tell others that they have found the Messiah they have long-awaited.  So how does this change things for them? 

First, understand that this coming of the Messiah was not exactly as they had been told.  They had been taught that he would come as a military leader and conquer their enemies.  However, the Messiah that Peter preached about, Jesus, was quite different from what they had expected.  He did not come as a king to conquer Rome, but as the King to conquer a much more deadly enemy than Rome: the enemy of sin and death.  And he conquered death by dying and rising again.  Paul would later say it this way:

 1 Corinthians 15:57. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory [over death] through our Lord Jesus Christ.

How much of this did these first followers of Jesus understand at this point?  Remember that Jesus’ original disciples were often slow to understand what he was teaching.  But now they have the Holy Spirit to guide them in understanding.  But did they understand already at this point that Jesus’ death on the cross ended the need for animal sacrifices?  Certainly, by the time Paul is writing letters 10-20 years later, that was well understood.  However, we are unsure how much this early group understood.  

And perhaps a better question is, do we understand what the sacrifices meant in Old Testament times and what Jesus’ sacrifices mean for us?   There is considerable confusion about this, so let’s try to clarify.

When God created the world, his perfect plan did not include sacrifices.  There was no death in the good world God created.  He didn’t want sacrifices; he desired obedience.   And that is still God’s preference, as Samuel explained to Saul:

1 Samuel 15:22   And Samuel said, “Has Yehovah as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of Yehovah? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.

So we need to understand what King Saul forgot:  What does God really want from us?  Obedience.

God’s plan was obedience.  But Adam and Eve would not choose obedience.  They had been warned that taking the forbidden fruit would cause death.  So when they brought sin and rebellion into the world, they brought death into the world.   Sin began its reign on the world, and with it the penalty of death.  Animal sacrifices would be instituted as part of a way to temporarily atone for the people’s sins.  Adam and Eve deserved death for their rebellion.  But look what happened in Genesis 3.  They sin and hide from God.  They make coverings out of fig leaves.  Because of their sin, the ground is cursed, their relationship with each other is cursed, and they are told they will die. “Dust to dust.”  But they do not die immediately.  A very important thing that happens is in verse 21:

Genesis 3:21   And Yehovah God made for Adam and his wife garments of skins and clothed them.

Think about this.  Where did the animal skins for garments come from?  God Himself sacrifices one or two of the animals that He so lovingly made and makes coverings for them.  Now we don’t have time to go into all the interesting symbolism of nakedness and sin and the covering of sin, but see that their sin is covered by the shedding of blood of animals, and then their nakedness is covered by the hides of the innocent animals whose blood was shed. They deserved death.  They were told that was the penalty.  Why would God postpone the penalty on Adam and Eve and instead temporarily place it on these animals?

 Because He is full of grace and mercy.  Grace is not a New Testament concept.  Grace is part of God’s character, and it is seen on every page of the Bible.  They needed forgiveness for this sin.  And God took measures he didn’t really want to take.  He didn’t really want to kill one of his own animals.  He didn’t want a sacrifice.  What did God really want?  Obedience.  Despite their disobedience, God acts in mercy to grant forgiveness so they avoid instant death.

Hebrews 9:22  Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.  

“The wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23)  The wages must be paid.

In the Old Testament, how do you get from Sin to Forgiveness?  So many people look at the laws of sacrifice in Leviticus and see this is the path to forgiveness.

if a sin is committed, then to be forgiven, one had to make an animal sacrifice to atone for their sin.   But that is not at all what the Old Testament says.  Look at this passage in Leviticus:

Leviticus 6:1-7   Yehovah said to Moses: “If anyone sins and is unfaithful to Yehovah by deceiving a neighbor about something entrusted to them or left in their care or about something stolen, or if they cheat their neighbor, or if they find lost property and lie about it, or if they swear falsely about any such sin that people may commit— when they sin in any of these ways and realize their guilt, they must return what they have stolen or taken by extortion, or what was entrusted to them, or the lost property they found, or whatever it was they swore falsely about. They must make restitution in full, add a fifth of the value to it, and give it all to the owner on the day they present their guilt offering. 
And as an offering they must bring to the priest, that is, to Yehovah, their guilt offering, a ram from the flock, one without defect and of the proper value. In this way, the priest will make atonement for them before Yehovah, and they will be forgiven for any of the things they did that made them guilty.

To be forgiven, there must be first recognition of the sin, a confession and repentance, a restitution as possible, and then an offering.  Restitution is made to any people you have cheated, robbed, or hurt by your sin. Then restitution to God is through the animal sacrifice.  Again, the penalty for sin is death.  The wages of Sin has always been death.  But God is full of grace and mercy and love, so he allows us to avoid instant death (as He did Adam and Eve) by accepting a sacrifice.

Forgiveness is granted out of God’s heart of mercy and out of his grace.  The death of the blameless animal is accepted as a temporary substitute for the penalty of sin, death.  But it was an imperfect sacrifice.  It was as the author of Hebrews stated just a shadow of what was to come.  

Hebrews 10:1-4   The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason, it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. Otherwise, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. However, those sacrifices serve as a reminder of sins. It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

For thousands of years, every day at 9 am and at 3 pm, a lamb was sacrificed on the altar of the Temple for the sins of the people.  The first sacrifice of the day was the lamb, and all other offerings were placed on top of that lamb, which burned for 6 hours.  Then, at 3 pm, another lamb was sacrificed and was left to be burned on the altar all night, ensuring that there was always a sacrifice being offered at all hours to atone for sins. Every hour of every day of the year. Year after year.  In addition, once a year, on the Day of Atonement, special sacrifices were made for the sins of the people.   But everyone knew that the blood of animals alone could not atone for sins. 

We see this clearly in Psalm 51, which we discussed a few weeks ago.  Again, this is the psalm David wrote after the prophet Nathan confronted him about his sin with Bathsheeba.  What is David’s response when confronted with his sins of adultery and murder? 

Psalm 51:10  Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
Psalm 51:16  For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;  You will not be pleased with a burnt offering

David is well aware that God doesn’t really want a sacrifice for his sin.   What God really wanted was what?  David’s obedience.  But that ship has sailed.  Now what does God want?   Not a sacrifice.  

Psalm 51:16  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit.  A broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

What God wants is a broken spirit and a repentant heart.  Confession and Repentance.   Sacrifices are a mere outward expression of what should be going on in a sinner’s heart.  No sacrifice was ever effective in atonement if the one offering the sacrifice was not repentant. 

But what about the path from sin to forgiveness in the New Testament?  How did the coming of Jesus change the way God forgives sin?

There is confession, repentance, restitution, and then the offering.  But not an imperfect animal sacrifice, but Jesus, the perfect, sinless only son of God.  He is our sacrificial offering.  He takes our place.  He pays the wages of our sins.  He takes our punishment of death.  However, note that this is the only change.  The path to forgiveness is unchanged.  God has not changed.  The grace by which God forgives in the Old Testament is the same grace God dispenses in the New Testament. The only difference is the sacrifice.

But, oh, what a difference Jesus makes.   A perfect sinless sacrifice.  

Hebrews 10:11-14   And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

“For all time a single sacrifice for sin,”  One and Done.  It is finished.  And thus, there is no need for any more sacrifices.  What does God really want from us?  Obedience.  But no human ever gave God total obedience except for Jesus.  So Jesus can be that perfect, blameless sacrifice and accomplish what no animal sacrifice ever could—a permanent atonement for sin.

But we can’t forget the steps of confession, repentance, and restitution.  They are still essential.  David in Psalm 51 knew that.  What God really wants is obedience, but when we sin, what God really wants is our hearts to break for our own sins.  (not the sins of others.). Confession and repentance.  Paul was concerned that, since continual sacrifices for sin were no longer required, people would forget the importance of remaining obedient and the importance of the steps to forgiveness.  But we see those steps throughout both Testaments.

1 John 1:9   If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

If we confess…. Confession is a necessary step in the process.

Romans 2:4   God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance.

Paul tells Timothy in 2 Timothy that repentance is a gift from God. Restitution is best seen in the New Testament in the actions of Zacchaeus.

Luke 19:8 And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.

However, we don’t know if these early followers of Jesus understood the sufficiency of Jesus’ sacrifice or if they continued to offer sacrifices in the Temple.  Certainly, by the time of Paul’s letters, this concept was fully understood, and there was no need for animal sacrifices for those who followed Jesus.  However, it is essential for us to understand the concept of sacrifice for sins and the process of forgiveness.

While Jesus’ sacrifice is complete and sufficient for the forgiveness of all sins, we are still called to make a sacrifice.

Romans 12:1  I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

We present ourselves as a sacrifice to God. This is not a sacrifice for forgiveness of sins; Jesus has taken care of that.  We sacrifice as an act of worship.  The people in the Old Testament brought a lamb, which was then killed.  It was a costly sacrifice for most people who had little.  When we present ourselves to Jesus as a living sacrifice in worship, it will cost us something.  As with all sacrifices, a death is involved.  We must die to self.

Listen to what RC Sproul said about this verse:
“God does not ask us to bring in our livestock and burn it on the altar; he asks us to give ourselves, to put ourselves alive on the altar. To be a Christian means to live a life of sacrifice, a life of presentation, making a gift of ourselves to God. Some people think that all it takes to be a Christian is to scribble a cheque or to give a few hours of service here and there on special projects for the church. But that’s not what believers are called to. My life is to be set apart and consecrated to God. That is what is acceptable to him; that is what delights him; that is what pleases him; that is the appropriate response to him and for him.” 3

What does God really want from us?  Obedience.  But all have been disobedient and fallen short of God’s plan.  And the wages of sin is death.  So God wants us to recognize our sins, confess, repent, make restitution as possible, and then thank him for the gift of his son, who paid the price for our sins.  And then what does God want from us after that?  Obedience.  The living sacrifice of obedience.

So spend some time in God’s word this week.  Study to see what God is asking you to be obedient to this week.  How will you sacrifice this week to be obedient?   Pray and discover what God is asking you to do this week.  And be obedient to it.

1.  It appears that these followers understood that if everything indeed belongs to God, then ‘personal property’ is interpreted differently.  The Bible looks at the things we ‘own’ as just being on loan to us from God, and we are just stewards of certain properties he has assigned us.
2.  These new followers were likely incorporating in their meals the celebration of the Lord’s Supper together in remembrance of what Jesus did for them.  Typically, what we call communion or the Lord’s Supper was held as part of a full meal at this time, as evidenced in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians.
3.  Sproul, R.C.  The Gospel of God: An Exposition of Romans.  Christian Focus Publications, 1994.  Page 195.

June 10  – The Ascension — Acts #1

David Chupp Acts , , , , ,

Acts #1 — The Ascension
Mark 16:15-19, Luke 24:50-53, Acts1:1-11, Hebrews (many passages)
(Cross-posted in the 70 weeks with Jesus section.)

Luke 24:50-51   And he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands, he blessed them.  While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven.  And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God.

We love to celebrate the significant happenings in the life of Jesus.  We primarily make a big deal of Christmas and Easter, as days to honor Jesus’ birth and resurrection.  I can’t imagine any Christian I know forgetting to celebrate either of these.  But do you celebrate Jesus’ Day of Ascension?  You probably didn’t notice that it just passed us by.  This year it was  Thursday, May 29.  It is always 40 days after Easter.  It may never be mentioned if your church does not follow a liturgical calendar.   We all know that Jesus ascended back to the Father.  But we never seem to talk about it.  

Why do we not talk about or celebrate Jesus’ ascension?  Well, we mention it a lot.  It is part of the creeds recited at each service in many churches.  From the Apostles’ Creed: “…he ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from there he shall come to judge the living and the dead.”  But I can’t recall hearing a sermon, Sunday School lesson, or reading a book about the ascension.  

Three weeks ago, I was looking ahead to this day, when our week-by-week study of Jesus’ ministry came to the ascension.  And I realized that I hadn’t ever thought much about the ascension.  I had no idea what I could share with you.  But let me tell you how good God is.  He led me to a book by Patrick Schreiner, “The Ascension of Christ, Recovering a Neglected Doctrine.”  This book and the book of Hebrews pointed out to me the importance of the ascension and what Jesus is doing now in the presence of God for us.

Schreiner notes that there are several reasons that we don’t emphasize the ascension. First, there is not much specific information in the Bible about the ascension.  Schreiner states: “The ascension narrative account covers a mere seven verses in the Bible, which, if you are counting, is 0.03 percent of all the verses in the Scriptures.”1

While there are very few verses describing the ascension event, there is a good deal of discussion in the Scriptures about the implications of Jesus’ ascension.  However, many of those we miss because we don’t understand the importance of the ascension.

The disciples didn’t understand the ascension either at first.  They were not expecting Jesus’ ascension.   He had told them, but they missed it.  For all they knew, Jesus had returned from the dead so he could resume his ministry with them.  In Luke’s second book, the Book of Acts, he begins the book the way he finished the Gospel of Luke, with Jesus’ ascension.

Acts 1:1-5  In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen.  He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.
And while staying with them, he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

Jesus tells them plainly that the Holy Spirit is coming in just a few days.  The disciples knew the scriptures.  They knew that Isaiah, Ezekiel, Joel, and Zechariah all spoke of the new age that would come when the Holy Spirit came.2. So now they expect the new age to begin in just a few days, and they ask him:

Acts 1:6   So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”

Despite everything Jesus has taught them, they are still expecting that when the new age comes, the Messiah will restore Israel to national independence and remove the Roman oppressors. They have been hanging on to this idea of a Messiah with a military takeover throughout the past year, at times even discussing what positions of authority they would have when Jesus took over.  As he did at Jesus’ arrest, I can see Peter picking up his sword again and saying, “So now’s the time you are going to wipe out Rome and restore Israel’s kingdom?.

And Jesus answers:

Acts 1:7-11   He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 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? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.

Jesus says the Father’s timing for the last days is not their concern.  It is not for them to know the Father’s timing or worry about that.  Instead, their focus should be on their task as witnesses.  The kingdom of God that they are to proclaim to the world is his message of grace and forgiveness.  That is what is important.  Talk about a Mike Drop moment – Boom!  Impressive statement, impressive exit.

Let me say that a little louder for my friends on the internet.   Stop wasting time arguing, debating, and trying to figure out the Father’s timing on the last days. Jesus says that it is none of your business.  God has given us this incredible gift of the Holy Spirit.  And we have God’s power through the Holy Spirit so that we can be powerful witnesses to God’s message of grace.  Let’s do that.

So the next time someone wants you to watch this 1-hour video on how the end times are being fulfilled, whip out Acts 1:7-9 and tell them God said I don’t have time to waste trying to figure out things that are not for me to know.  I need to spend that hour with the Holy Spirit, being God’s witness to the world.

So Jesus blows their mind with his pronouncement, then blows their mind with his sudden departure.  This was not at all what they expected.  (That was a recurring theme for the disciples with Jesus the whole year.). So they are just staring up at the clouds, with that dumb, clueless look on their faces.   Just staring at the cloud….Until God sends a couple of angels:

Acts 1:10-11  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? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

“Stop staring at the sky.  He’ll come back, but not today.  Go do what he told you to do.”

We don’t realize the importance of the ascension, so we find ourselves asking questions.  Perhaps you’ve thought about some of these:
Why did Jesus have to go?
Wouldn’t it have been better if Jesus had just stayed on earth?
Why did he have to leave for the Holy Spirit to come?
What is Jesus doing up there anyway?   
Are any of these your questions?

We talk all the time about what Jesus has done on earth (his life, death, and resurrection), and we like to talk about what he will do when he comes back, but we rarely talk about what Jesus is doing right now.  I think we would better understand the ascension if we realized how it fits into the big story of the Bible.

But the problem is that many people don’t have a firm grip on the Bible’s story. We talk a lot about heaven and earth, and some people get the idea that one day, we will leave Earth and go to heaven. But the Bible does not really view heaven and earth as two distinct, separate geographic locations. We need to think in terms of “God’s space” and “our space” and how they were the same in the beginning in Genesis 1-2.  

It helps to picture this, and I think the people at the Bible Project have done the best job illustrating this concept.  So please take 6 minutes and learn much as you see their video.

The Bible discusses the ascension almost as part of the resurrection.  Jesus was dead, then he rose from the grave in bodily form, but a glorified body (It was recognizable but not so easily.  He was able to pass through walls or appear instantly.).  But it is still a human body, bearing the scars of his crucifixion.  He rises from the dead, then stops off here, like a short layover for 40 days for some unfinished business.  He wants to ensure the disciples accept his return to life by seeing him.  He needs to make sure their guilt over denying him does not keep them from doing the work, and then he needs to give them final instructions on their ministry and the need to wait on the gift of the Spirit.

Then he ascends in his glorified human body to sit at the right hand of the Father.  So we have Jesus, in his human body, in God’s space.  The New Testament writers often speak of Jesus’ exaltation: his resurrection, rising to heaven, and enthronement as one process, the ascension.  Jesus has opened the door for us to be with God again one day.

Jesus tried to explain this to Nicodemus:

John 3:13-15   No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

No one ascends to God’s space except Jesus.  The only way we go is if we go with him.  There is no other way.  The Son of Man must be lifted up — This encompasses the crucifixion, the resurrection, and the ascension.  Jesus was lifted up on the cross, lifted up from the grave, and then lifted up into the skies.  Because of this, we may have “eternal life,” which is life in God’s space.

And what is Jesus doing there?  Jesus is at the right hand of God, acting as our high priest.  In the Bible, priests served God and God’s people by mediating between God and man before God’s altar, where God’s space and our space meet.  The book of Hebrews is full of statements of how Jesus is fulfilling the priestly role in God’s space now.  I will discuss three of these priestly roles Jesus is doing now:  He intercedes for us; He presents a sacrifice for us, and He provides a blessing to us.

Hebrews 7:25  Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

What does Jesus’ intercession look like? You have heard Romans 8:31, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” But did you realize that verse was talking about Jesus’ intercessory role?

Romans 8:31-34   “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.

Who can be against us?  Who can be our accuser?  Remember in the book of Job, when the Satan (the accuser) comes to bring a charge against Job?  Paul tells us no one can bring a charge against those in Christ.  Let the accuser come.  He has no charges to bring against us because Jesus has taken them all away on the cross.  Jesus is at God’s throne, so no one can come to accuse.  If Jesus is for us, then no one can come against us.  He is always making intercession for us, speaking to the Father on our behalf.   

As Jesus in His final days prayed for Peter:

Luke 22:31   Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail.

Jesus is in heaven, praying for you that your faith will not fail.   And Jesus understands your temptation.  Look at this passage in Hebrews 4:14-16.  First verse 14:

Hebrews 4:14  Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 

The fact that Jesus is present as our high priest in the throne room of God should encourage us.

Hebrews 4:15  For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

Humanity is represented in heaven right now, because Jesus is there in his human body, his glorified human body.   Jesus did not give up his humanity, so he can better represent us there.  He understands us.  He has been where you are, experiencing all the temptations, all the weaknesses.  Jesus knows us.  He gets us.  And he speaks to the Father on our behalf.

Hebrews 4:16   Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

So then, we can come to God’s throne when we are in need with confidence. We don’t approach God’s throne as a lowly subject fearful of the King’s response, but we come sure in the grace of our Lord Jesus, confident that he has paved the way to the throne with intercession.

Remember a few weeks ago we talked about the difference in the 2 fig trees (April 27, 28 A.D.  – Jesus rides in a parade, rearranges furniture, and kills a tree.— The Year of the Lord’s Favor #80). Jesus tells a parable in Luke 13:6-9 of a fig tree that should have fruit but does not for three years. The owner wants to dig it up and discard it, but it is given another chance.   Then, in his final week, Jesus sees a tree that should have fruit, but does not, and it dies.  Why does this tree wither, but the other gets another chance?   Because the tree in the parable has an intercessor, someone to speak for it and ask for another chance.  Jesus is our intercessor, sitting by the Father, seeking mercy and forgiveness for us.

We often ask our friends to pray for us, to intercede for us.  And that is a good thing.  But sometimes we may forget to pray for each other.   Jesus is at the Father’s right hand, praying for you.  He is lifting you up by name.  He is speaking to the Father, calling you his brother or sister.  He is praying, O Father, help her see the truth of this scripture.  Father, help her understand how she should respond.  Oh, what a Savior!

Secondly, Jesus, our High Priest, provides a sacrifice for us.

Hebrews 5:1 “For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.”

Just as the altar stands between the holy place and the people, the priest stands between the people and God.  He offers a sacrifice to God on behalf of the people and then offers a blessing from God to the people.  And once a year, and only once a year, on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the High Priest would make an offering and prepare himself, then ascend the 12 steps leading up to the thick curtain that separated the holy place from the Holy of Holies.  This curtain or veil was embroidered with cherubim, signifying the priest was entering God’s space.  He would take the blood of the offering to present to God by sprinkling it on the mercy seat.  

Every year, this would be repeated to make atonement for the sins of all the people.  But it was not a perfect system.  The priests were also sinners and had to make offerings for their sins constantly.  But they looked forward to a time when there would be a great high priest who could ascend to God’s space without sin.

David asked in Psalm 24:

Psalm 24:3-4  “Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place?
He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully.”

And this would be fulfilled in Jesus.  He was without sin, he had clean hands and a pure heart.  He is the only one worthy to ascend to God’s space and stand in God’s presence.  And because we are covered with his righteousness, we will stand in God’s presence.

Hebrews 9:11-14   “But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.”

The sacrifice Jesus makes for us is himself, a perfect sacrifice. Though the high priest would enter the holy of holies only once a year,  priests in Israel would make many sacrifices every day.  Besides the offerings that people brought, twice a day, every day, a lamb was sacrificed, called the tamid offering, for the sins of the people.  Tamid means “continual” or “constant.”  Their sacrifices were never complete.

Hebrews 10:11-14   And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

Unlike the earthly high priest who had to make sacrifices daily, Jesus’ perfect sacrifice is once for all.  His crucified body, still bearing the scars, is always before the Father as our perfect sacrifice.  No other blood sacrifices are needed.

The third aspect of the work of the high priest that Jesus is fulfilling for us is blessing. In the Old Testament, when the high priest completed his sacrifices, he left the tent of meeting, lifted up his hands, and blessed the people.  We see this initiated with Moses and Aaron:

Leviticus 9:23   And Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting, and when they came out they blessed the people, and the glory of Yehovah appeared to all the people.

And the book of Numbers gives us the blessing they would use.

Numbers 6:22-27   Yehovah spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them,
‘Yehovah bless you and keep you;
Yehovah make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
Yehovah lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.’
So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.”

Aaron and the priests were to place God’s name, Yehovah, on them and bless them.  The blessing is the presence of God among them, shining his face on them, regarding them, and giving them peace.  Peace is shalom, wholeness, peace with God and man.

And what blessing does our High Priest, Jesus, grant us from the heavens?  Jesus enters God’s presence and then, as priests of old did, sends us the blessing of God’s presence.  But this blessing of presence comes not as the priests of old placing God’s name on them.  This blessing of presence comes by placing God himself in us, in the person of the Holy Spirit, sent in the name of Jesus, Yeshua, to dwell with us.  This presence of God within us will enlighten us and give us shalom.

John 14:25-27  “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you.  But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.  Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.

John 16:7   Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.

Like the High Priests of old, Jesus had to present himself as the sacrifice before the Father in God’s space, the heavenly temple. After presenting the sacrifice, He gave the blessing of the Holy Spirit. That is why Jesus had to ascend before the Spirit could be sent down.

With his ascension, the door was opened from God’s space to our space. He has not only made our eventual ascension possible but also opened the door for God to come in a more tangible way into our space.  Individuals in the Old Testament were temporarily clothed with the Holy Spirit to do specific deeds: leaders like Saul and David, craftsmen like Bezalel, and prophets like Ezekiel and Daniel. But when Jesus enters God’s space in his glorified human body, He opens the door for God’s spirit to come upon all believers, not just temporarily, but to live with us. He cleanses us from sin so we can be fit vessels of God’s Holy Spirit.  

What about those who think it would be better if Jesus had stayed on earth?  Wouldn’t it be great for Jesus to be right here now?  We could ask him questions, get his advice, and watch him work.  Yes, but remember when Jesus was here in 28 AD, he was limited in his human form.  He could only be in one place at a time.  And this is a big world.  He was only able to minister to a relative few.  But now that same spirit of Jesus, the Holy Spirit, is with every believer, every day, every hour.  He is available to answer our questions and give us advice.  Oh, we need to learn to listen to his voice and open our eyes to see him at work all around us.

So we have seen that Jesus had to ascend to God’s space to complete his work of salvation, to continue his work of intercession, and to convey his blessing of the Holy Spirit from God’s space to ours.

The ascension is Jesus’ enthronement.  He sits on the throne at the Father’s right hand to do all these things and then one day to come again, to establish his complete rule by making God’s space and Man’s space one again.  And so shall we ever be with the Lord.

  1. Schreiner, Patrick.  The Ascension of Christ: Recovering a Neglected Doctrine (Snapshots).   Page 7.
  2. Isaiah 32:15-20, 44:3-5, Ezekiel 11:19, 36:26, Joel 2:28-3:1, Zechariah 12:8-10

An addendum on the Gospel of Mark ending that contains the ascension:
There are two Gospel passages that tell about Jesus’ ascension.  However, most scholars agree that the passage in Mark is not part of the original document of Mark’s Gospel, but was appended by some unknown person over two hundred years later.  The early church fathers, before 300 AD, did not have Mark 16:9-20 in their copies of Mark.  Church historian Eusebius, in 320, had access to many manuscripts of Mark, and he remarked that this passage was missing in almost all manuscripts.  Ending the Book of Mark at 16:8 is a rather abrupt conclusion, and apparently someone ‘borrowed’ material from other gospel writers to make a more thorough conclusion.  

This is one of just a few passages that scholars agree have been appended to the scriptures.  You may find them enclosed in brackets or with a footnote in modern versions of the Bible.  None of them are important variations, theologically speaking.  

I cannot find any source that discusses where the verses on drinking poison and picking up serpents came from.  There is a verse in Luke 10:19, and Paul was inadvertently bitten by a viper with no ill effects, but nothing else I can find.  (If you know of something, please let me know.). In the Tyndale Commentary, Alan Cole says this: “It would be unwise, however, to build a theological position upon these verses alone; and this no responsible Christian group has ever done.”

And I sat in the furthest back pew (there were only 5), one evening at a small church near Kingston, Georgia, who did just that.  They had that verse from Mark inscribed around the tops of the walls at the front of the church.  There was a lot of music, several snakes were handled, but no one took the Coke bottle with clear liquid on the altar.  While I can’t agree with their theology or practice, I admired their resolve.  May we be so bold as to do what Jesus asks us to do.

June 10, 28 A.D.  – The Ascension — The Year of the Lord’s Favor #86

David Chupp The 70 Weeks with Jesus Blog , , , , ,

Week 69 — The Ascension
Mark 16:15-19, Luke 24:50-53, Acts1:1-11, Hebrews (many passages)

Luke 24:50-51   And he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands, he blessed them.  While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven.  And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God.

We love to celebrate the significant happenings in the life of Jesus.  We primarily make a big deal of Christmas and Easter, as days to honor Jesus’ birth and resurrection.  I can’t imagine any Christian I know forgetting to celebrate either of these.  But do you celebrate Jesus’ Day of Ascension?  You probably didn’t notice that it just passed us by.  This year it was  Thursday, May 29.  It is always 40 days after Easter.  It may never be mentioned if your church does not follow a liturgical calendar.   We all know that Jesus ascended back to the Father.  But we never seem to talk about it.  

Why do we not talk about or celebrate Jesus’ ascension?  Well, we mention it a lot.  It is part of the creeds recited at each service in many churches.  From the Apostles’ Creed: “…he ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from there he shall come to judge the living and the dead.”  But I can’t recall hearing a sermon, Sunday School lesson, or reading a book about the ascension.  

Three weeks ago, I was looking ahead to this day, when our week-by-week study of Jesus’ ministry came to the ascension.  And I realized that I hadn’t ever thought much about the ascension.  I had no idea what I could share with you.  But let me tell you how good God is.  He led me to a book by Patrick Schreiner, “The Ascension of Christ, Recovering a Neglected Doctrine.”  This book and the book of Hebrews pointed out to me the importance of the ascension and what Jesus is doing now in the presence of God for us.

Schreiner notes that there are several reasons that we don’t emphasize the ascension. First, there is not much specific information in the Bible about the ascension.  Schreiner states: “The ascension narrative account covers a mere seven verses in the Bible, which, if you are counting, is 0.03 percent of all the verses in the Scriptures.”1

While there are very few verses describing the ascension event, there is a good deal of discussion in the Scriptures about the implications of Jesus’ ascension.  However, many of those we miss because we don’t understand the importance of the ascension.

The disciples didn’t understand the ascension either at first.  They were not expecting Jesus’ ascension.   He had told them, but they missed it.  For all they knew, Jesus had returned from the dead so he could resume his ministry with them.  In Luke’s second book, the Book of Acts, he begins the book the way he finished the Gospel of Luke, with Jesus’ ascension.

Acts 1:1-5  In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen.  He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.
And while staying with them, he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

Jesus tells them plainly that the Holy Spirit is coming in just a few days.  The disciples knew the scriptures.  They knew that Isaiah, Ezekiel, Joel, and Zechariah all spoke of the new age that would come when the Holy Spirit came.2. So now they expect the new age to begin in just a few days, and they ask him:

Acts 1:6   So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”

Despite everything Jesus has taught them, they are still expecting that when the new age comes, the Messiah will restore Israel to national independence and remove the Roman oppressors. They have been hanging on to this idea of a Messiah with a military takeover throughout the past year, at times even discussing what positions of authority they would have when Jesus took over.  As he did at Jesus’ arrest, I can see Peter picking up his sword again and saying, “So now’s the time you are going to wipe out Rome and restore Israel’s kingdom?.

And Jesus answers:

Acts 1:7-11   He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 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? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.

Jesus says the Father’s timing for the last days is not their concern.  It is not for them to know the Father’s timing or worry about that.  Instead, their focus should be on their task as witnesses.  The kingdom of God that they are to proclaim to the world is his message of grace and forgiveness.  That is what is important.  Talk about a Mike Drop moment – Boom!  Impressive statement, impressive exit.

Let me say that a little louder for my friends on the internet.   Stop wasting time arguing, debating, and trying to figure out the Father’s timing on the last days. Jesus says that it is none of your business.  God has given us this incredible gift of the Holy Spirit.  And we have God’s power through the Holy Spirit so that we can be powerful witnesses to God’s message of grace.  Let’s do that.

So the next time someone wants you to watch this 1-hour video on how the end times are being fulfilled, whip out Acts 1:7-9 and tell them God said I don’t have time to waste trying to figure out things that are not for me to know.  I need to spend that hour with the Holy Spirit, being God’s witness to the world.

So Jesus blows their mind with his pronouncement, then blows their mind with his sudden departure.  This was not at all what they expected.  (That was a recurring theme for the disciples with Jesus the whole year.). So they are just staring up at the clouds, with that dumb, clueless look on their faces.   Just staring at the cloud….Until God sends a couple of angels:

Acts 1:10-11  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? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

“Stop staring at the sky.  He’ll come back, but not today.  Go do what he told you to do.”

We don’t realize the importance of the ascension, so we find ourselves asking questions.  Perhaps you’ve thought about some of these:
Why did Jesus have to go?
Wouldn’t it have been better if Jesus had just stayed on earth?
Why did he have to leave for the Holy Spirit to come?
What is Jesus doing up there anyway?   
Are any of these your questions?

We talk all the time about what Jesus has done on earth (his life, death, and resurrection), and we like to talk about what he will do when he comes back, but we rarely talk about what Jesus is doing right now.  I think we would better understand the ascension if we realized how it fits into the big story of the Bible.

But the problem is that many people don’t have a firm grip on the Bible’s story. We talk a lot about heaven and earth, and some people get the idea that one day, we will leave Earth and go to heaven. But the Bible does not really view heaven and earth as two distinct, separate geographic locations. We need to think in terms of “God’s space” and “our space” and how they were the same in the beginning in Genesis 1-2.  

It helps to picture this, and I think the people at the Bible Project have done the best job illustrating this concept.  So please take 6 minutes and learn much as you see their video.

The Bible discusses the ascension almost as part of the resurrection.  Jesus was dead, then he rose from the grave in bodily form, but a glorified body (It was recognizable but not so easily.  He was able to pass through walls or appear instantly.).  But it is still a human body, bearing the scars of his crucifixion.  He rises from the dead, then stops off here, like a short layover for 40 days for some unfinished business.  He wants to ensure the disciples accept his return to life by seeing him.  He needs to make sure their guilt over denying him does not keep them from doing the work, and then he needs to give them final instructions on their ministry and the need to wait on the gift of the Spirit.

Then he ascends in his glorified human body to sit at the right hand of the Father.  So we have Jesus, in his human body, in God’s space.  The New Testament writers often speak of Jesus’ exaltation: his resurrection, rising to heaven, and enthronement as one process, the ascension.  Jesus has opened the door for us to be with God again one day.

Jesus tried to explain this to Nicodemus:

John 3:13-15   No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

No one ascends to God’s space except Jesus.  The only way we go is if we go with him.  There is no other way.  The Son of Man must be lifted up — This encompasses the crucifixion, the resurrection, and the ascension.  Jesus was lifted up on the cross, lifted up from the grave, and then lifted up into the skies.  Because of this, we may have “eternal life,” which is life in God’s space.

And what is Jesus doing there?  Jesus is at the right hand of God, acting as our high priest.  In the Bible, priests served God and God’s people by mediating between God and man before God’s altar, where God’s space and our space meet.  The book of Hebrews is full of statements of how Jesus is fulfilling the priestly role in God’s space now.  I will discuss three of these priestly roles Jesus is doing now:  He intercedes for us; He presents a sacrifice for us, and He provides a blessing to us.

Hebrews 7:25  Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

What does Jesus’ intercession look like? You have heard Romans 8:31, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” But did you realize that verse was talking about Jesus’ intercessory role?

Romans 8:31-34   “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.

Who can be against us?  Who can be our accuser?  Remember in the book of Job, when the Satan (the accuser) comes to bring a charge against Job?  Paul tells us no one can bring a charge against those in Christ.  Let the accuser come.  He has no charges to bring against us because Jesus has taken them all away on the cross.  Jesus is at God’s throne, so no one can come to accuse.  If Jesus is for us, then no one can come against us.  He is always making intercession for us, speaking to the Father on our behalf.   

As Jesus in His final days prayed for Peter:

Luke 22:31   Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail.

Jesus is in heaven, praying for you that your faith will not fail.   And Jesus understands your temptation.  Look at this passage in Hebrews 4:14-16.  First verse 14:

Hebrews 4:14  Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 

The fact that Jesus is present as our high priest in the throne room of God should encourage us.

Hebrews 4:15  For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

Humanity is represented in heaven right now, because Jesus is there in his human body, his glorified human body.   Jesus did not give up his humanity, so he can better represent us there.  He understands us.  He has been where you are, experiencing all the temptations, all the weaknesses.  Jesus knows us.  He gets us.  And he speaks to the Father on our behalf.

Hebrews 4:16   Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

So then, we can come to God’s throne when we are in need with confidence. We don’t approach God’s throne as a lowly subject fearful of the King’s response, but we come sure in the grace of our Lord Jesus, confident that he has paved the way to the throne with intercession.

Remember a few weeks ago we talked about the difference in the 2 fig trees (April 27, 28 A.D.  – Jesus rides in a parade, rearranges furniture, and kills a tree.— The Year of the Lord’s Favor #80). Jesus tells a parable in Luke 13:6-9 of a fig tree that should have fruit but does not for three years. The owner wants to dig it up and discard it, but it is given another chance.   Then, in his final week, Jesus sees a tree that should have fruit, but does not, and it dies.  Why does this tree wither, but the other gets another chance?   Because the tree in the parable has an intercessor, someone to speak for it and ask for another chance.  Jesus is our intercessor, sitting by the Father, seeking mercy and forgiveness for us.

We often ask our friends to pray for us, to intercede for us.  And that is a good thing.  But sometimes we may forget to pray for each other.   Jesus is at the Father’s right hand, praying for you.  He is lifting you up by name.  He is speaking to the Father, calling you his brother or sister.  He is praying, O Father, help her see the truth of this scripture.  Father, help her understand how she should respond.  Oh, what a Savior!

Secondly, Jesus, our High Priest, provides a sacrifice for us.

Hebrews 5:1 “For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.”

Just as the altar stands between the holy place and the people, the priest stands between the people and God.  He offers a sacrifice to God on behalf of the people and then offers a blessing from God to the people.  And once a year, and only once a year, on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the High Priest would make an offering and prepare himself, then ascend the 12 steps leading up to the thick curtain that separated the holy place from the Holy of Holies.  This curtain or veil was embroidered with cherubim, signifying the priest was entering God’s space.  He would take the blood of the offering to present to God by sprinkling it on the mercy seat.  

Every year, this would be repeated to make atonement for the sins of all the people.  But it was not a perfect system.  The priests were also sinners and had to make offerings for their sins constantly.  But they looked forward to a time when there would be a great high priest who could ascend to God’s space without sin.

David asked in Psalm 24:

Psalm 24:3-4  “Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place?
He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully.”

And this would be fulfilled in Jesus.  He was without sin, he had clean hands and a pure heart.  He is the only one worthy to ascend to God’s space and stand in God’s presence.  And because we are covered with his righteousness, we will stand in God’s presence.

Hebrews 9:11-14   “But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.”

The sacrifice Jesus makes for us is himself, a perfect sacrifice. Though the high priest would enter the holy of holies only once a year,  priests in Israel would make many sacrifices every day.  Besides the offerings that people brought, twice a day, every day, a lamb was sacrificed, called the tamid offering, for the sins of the people.  Tamid means “continual” or “constant.”  Their sacrifices were never complete.

Hebrews 10:11-14   And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

Unlike the earthly high priest who had to make sacrifices daily, Jesus’ perfect sacrifice is once for all.  His crucified body, still bearing the scars, is always before the Father as our perfect sacrifice.  No other blood sacrifices are needed.

The third aspect of the work of the high priest that Jesus is fulfilling for us is blessing. In the Old Testament, when the high priest completed his sacrifices, he left the tent of meeting, lifted up his hands, and blessed the people.  We see this initiated with Moses and Aaron:

Leviticus 9:23   And Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting, and when they came out they blessed the people, and the glory of Yehovah appeared to all the people.

And the book of Numbers gives us the blessing they would use.

Numbers 6:22-27   Yehovah spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them,
‘Yehovah bless you and keep you;
Yehovah make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
Yehovah lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.’
So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.”

Aaron and the priests were to place God’s name, Yehovah, on them and bless them.  The blessing is the presence of God among them, shining his face on them, regarding them, and giving them peace.  Peace is shalom, wholeness, peace with God and man.

And what blessing does our High Priest, Jesus, grant us from the heavens?  Jesus enters God’s presence and then, as priests of old did, sends us the blessing of God’s presence.  But this blessing of presence comes not as the priests of old placing God’s name on them.  This blessing of presence comes by placing God himself in us, in the person of the Holy Spirit, sent in the name of Jesus, Yeshua, to dwell with us.  This presence of God within us will enlighten us and give us shalom.

John 14:25-27  “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you.  But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.  Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.

John 16:7   Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.

Like the High Priests of old, Jesus had to present himself as the sacrifice before the Father in God’s space, the heavenly temple. After presenting the sacrifice, He gave the blessing of the Holy Spirit. That is why Jesus had to ascend before the Spirit could be sent down.

With his ascension, the door was opened from God’s space to our space. He has not only made our eventual ascension possible but also opened the door for God to come in a more tangible way into our space.  Individuals in the Old Testament were temporarily clothed with the Holy Spirit to do specific deeds: leaders like Saul and David, craftsmen like Bezalel, and prophets like Ezekiel and Daniel. But when Jesus enters God’s space in his glorified human body, He opens the door for God’s spirit to come upon all believers, not just temporarily, but to live with us. He cleanses us from sin so we can be fit vessels of God’s Holy Spirit.  

What about those who think it would be better if Jesus had stayed on earth?  Wouldn’t it be great for Jesus to be right here now?  We could ask him questions, get his advice, and watch him work.  Yes, but remember when Jesus was here in 28 AD, he was limited in his human form.  He could only be in one place at a time.  And this is a big world.  He was only able to minister to a relative few.  But now that same spirit of Jesus, the Holy Spirit, is with every believer, every day, every hour.  He is available to answer our questions and give us advice.  Oh, we need to learn to listen to his voice and open our eyes to see him at work all around us.

So we have seen that Jesus had to ascend to God’s space to complete his work of salvation, to continue his work of intercession, and to convey his blessing of the Holy Spirit from God’s space to ours.

The ascension is Jesus’ enthronement.  He sits on the throne at the Father’s right hand to do all these things and then one day to come again, to establish his complete rule by making God’s space and Man’s space one again.  And so shall we ever be with the Lord.

  1. Schreiner, Patrick.  The Ascension of Christ: Recovering a Neglected Doctrine (Snapshots).   Page 7.
  2. Isaiah 32:15-20, 44:3-5, Ezekiel 11:19, 36:26, Joel 2:28-3:1, Zechariah 12:8-10

An addendum on the Gospel of Mark ending that contains the ascension:
There are two Gospel passages that tell about Jesus’ ascension.  However, most scholars agree that the passage in Mark is not part of the original document of Mark’s Gospel, but was appended by some unknown person over two hundred years later.  The early church fathers, before 300 AD, did not have Mark 16:9-20 in their copies of Mark.  Church historian Eusebius, in 320, had access to many manuscripts of Mark, and he remarked that this passage was missing in almost all manuscripts.  Ending the Book of Mark at 16:8 is a rather abrupt conclusion, and apparently someone ‘borrowed’ material from other gospel writers to make a more thorough conclusion.  

This is one of just a few passages that scholars agree have been appended to the scriptures.  You may find them enclosed in brackets or with a footnote in modern versions of the Bible.  None of them are important variations, theologically speaking.  

I cannot find any source that discusses where the verses on drinking poison and picking up serpents came from.  There is a verse in Luke 10:19, and Paul was inadvertently bitten by a viper with no ill effects, but nothing else I can find.  (If you know of something, please let me know.). In the Tyndale Commentary, Alan Cole says this: “It would be unwise, however, to build a theological position upon these verses alone; and this no responsible Christian group has ever done.”

And I sat in the furthest back pew (there were only 5), one evening at a small church near Kingston, Georgia, who did just that.  They had that verse from Mark inscribed around the tops of the walls at the front of the church.  There was a lot of music, several snakes were handled, but no one took the Coke bottle with clear liquid on the altar.  While I can’t agree with their theology or practice, I admired their resolve.  May we be so bold as to do what Jesus asks us to do.