Written by Benoît Santos - Updated on Oct 27, 2024
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What is the meaning of ascension?
The Ascension of Jesus and His Current Ministry as High Priest.
The ascension of Jesus Christ is one of the most important events in His life and ministry. Indeed, it is significant for several reasons. They include the following.
This was the end of Jesus' earthly ministry
First, the ascension signified the end of Christ's earthly ministry . The last act He performed before taking His place in heaven was the ascension. It was therefore the culmination of His first coming to earth.
The Hebrew writer notes this. He emphasizes that Jesus' ascension means that Christ now sits as our high priest in heaven:
Now the main point of what we are saying is this: We have such a high priest, the one seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a minister in the sanctuary and the true tabernacle which the Lord, and not just any mortal, has set up. (Hebrews 8:1, 2 NRSV)
Jesus’ earthly ministry was complete with His ascension. Yet His ministry continues as our High Priest in heaven . He now ministers in a heavenly sanctuary.
It was the return of Jesus to his former residence and glory
The ascension was also Jesus' return to his former place of residence . It was there that he took possession of what was rightfully his.
We find that Jesus prayed to receive his former glory in his prayer to God the Father on the night of his betrayal:
And now, Father, bring me into the glory we shared before the world began. (John 17:5 NLT)
The ascension accomplished the answer to that prayer. Jesus has now returned to his place of honor with God the Father .
The apostle Paul wrote about the exaltation of Jesus Christ to the Philippians. He pointed out that Jesus, who humbled himself while here on earth, is now highly exalted in heaven. Paul explained it this way:
Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and bestowed upon him the name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth; and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11 NKJV)
Jesus Christ is now exalted to the right hand, or place of authority, of God the Father . He now receives the honor and majesty that He deserves.
At the ascension, God the Father seated God the Son in the heavenly realms. Paul wrote about this in his letter to the Ephesians:
I want you to know the great and mighty power that God has for us, disciples. It is the same wonderful power that He used when He raised Christ from the dead and let Him sit at His right hand in heaven. There, Christ reigns over all forces, authorities, powers, and rulers. He reigns over all beings in this world and will reign in the world to come as well. God has placed all things under the power of Christ, and for the sake of the church, He has made Him the head of all. The church is the body of Christ and is filled with Christ who completely fills everything. (Ephesians 1:19-22 CEV)
The Son is now exalted.
We must remember that while on earth, Jesus imposed certain limitations on Himself. For example, He was limited to being in one particular place at a time. This is no longer the case. Once Jesus ascended to God the Father in heaven, these limitations were no longer in effect. He is now the resurrected Lord , awaiting the time when He will return and claim what is rightfully His on earth.
Jesus' work was satisfactory: the father accepted the son
Everything that Jesus Christ had purposed to do had been accomplished. The fact that Jesus ascended to heaven and remained there is also of great significance. God the Father received Jesus, God the Son, into His presence. This proved that Jesus’ earthly ministry was acceptable to Him.
Indeed, the Scriptures record that the work of Jesus Christ was finished, and finished in a way that pleased God the Father. Therefore, we can have the assurance that our sins have been forgiven by what Jesus accomplished because God the Father accepted Him into His presence. This is a very important biblical truth !
As he was dying by stoning, the martyr Stephen testified to having seen Jesus at the right hand of God the Father:
When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and ground their teeth at him. But Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. “Look,” he said, “I see heaven opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” (Acts 7:54-56 TNIV)
This is another indication that God the Son has returned to the presence of God the Father.
The first of resurrected humanity has now entered heaven
Jesus was the first human being to enter heaven with a glorified body. The writer of Hebrews declared that he is our forerunner:
Wherein Jesus is entered as a forerunner for us, being made a high priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek. (Hebrews 6:20 NKJV)
While Jesus was the first to enter heaven with a glorified body, he certainly will not be the last. Those of us who have trusted in him will also receive a glorified body.
So the presence of Jesus Christ in heaven is the guarantee that every believer will be resurrected and taken there to be with God the Father.
Christ began his new ministry of intercession and advocacy
After the mission on earth was accomplished, Jesus ascended to take on a new mission: he is the intercessor and advocate of believers . The author of Hebrews declared:
Therefore he is always able to save those who come to God through him. He is able to do this because he always lives and intercedes for them. (Hebrews 7:25 God's Word)
He continually pleads our cause before God the Father. Jesus is the One who represents us when we sin.
John wrote about this representation or defense of God the Son . He explained what Jesus does in this way:
My little children, I write these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. (1 John 2:1 NRSV)
Jesus now pleads our cause before God the Father. He represents us.
This enabled Christ to send the Holy Spirit to do His work
Jesus’ ascension enabled him to send the Holy Spirit in his place. On the night of his betrayal, Jesus said the following to his disciples in the upper room:
But it is actually better for you that I go away, because if I do not, the Counselor will not come. If I go away, he will come because I will send him to you. (John 16:7 NLT)
The Holy Spirit could not come, in a special way, until Jesus Christ was glorified. The Spirit of God is now carrying the ministry of Jesus all over the world. When Jesus was here on earth, He was limited to one geographical location. That is no longer the case. Jesus promised that believers would do greater works than He did.
John records Jesus saying,
I can guarantee this truth: Those who believe in me will do the things I do. They will do even greater things because I am going to the Father. (John 14:12 God's Word)
The works have a greater reach because the Holy Spirit indwells every believer with the ability to do the work of Christ . Every moment of every day, God the Holy Spirit is working through believers in every part of the world to accomplish the work of Jesus Christ.
It allowed spiritual gifts to be given to believers
With the ascension of Jesus Christ into heaven, he was able to send spiritual gifts to believers. Paul writes to the Ephesians:
Therefore he says, "When he ascended on high, he led captivity captive and gave gifts to men." (Now this, "He ascended" - what does it mean but that He also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is also He who ascended far above all heavens, that He might fill all things.) And He Himself gave some to be apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists , and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. (Ephesians 4:8-12 NKJV)
These gifts enable believers to do the work of the ministry .
Jesus is now preparing our heavenly home
In the Gospel of John we read of Jesus' preparations for our heavenly home. He recorded the following:
Jesus told his disciples, “Don’t worry! Have faith in God and have faith in me. There are many rooms in my Father’s house. I will not tell you unless it is true. I am going to prepare a place for each of you. After I have done this, I will come back and take you to be with me. Then we will be together.” (John 14:1-3 CEV)
Jesus is preparing a place for believers. The Bible says that the true home of believers is in heaven . We are only pilgrims, or those who are only temporary residents, here on earth. Peter wrote,
Dear brothers and sisters, you are strangers and foreigners here. So I warn you to stay away from evil desires because they war against your very souls . (1 Peter 2:11 NLT)
Heaven is our true home. We must always remember that.
He anticipates his return to Earth
The fact that Jesus ascended into heaven anticipates the time when he will return to earth. The angel said the following to the disciples who were watching Jesus ascend:
They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:11 NRSV)
We know the exact place and manner of his return because of the ascension . He will return visibly and boldly to the Mount of Olives.
Therefore, the ascension emphasizes one of the great truths of Scripture: Jesus Christ will return.
What is the meaning of Ascension?
The Bible says that Jesus Christ ascended into heaven from the Mount of Olives in the city of Jerusalem. This took place about forty days after his resurrection from the dead . Jesus did this in the presence of his disciples. This ascension event has a number of important meanings.
The ascension of Jesus marked the end of his earthly ministry. With his ascension, Jesus' ministry at his first coming was complete.
Furthermore, we see that Jesus completed everything he set out to accomplish. He could ascend to heaven knowing that he had done the work God had called him to do.
Jesus Christ then took up His former residence at the right hand, or place of authority, next to God the Father. He no longer had a visible or physical presence on earth. While being stoned to death, the martyr Stephen later saw Jesus next to the Father.
The fact that Jesus stood by God the Father demonstrates that the Father accepted His sacrifice on the cross as sufficient. This is extremely important. As a glorified human being, God the Son entered into the presence of God the Father in a body. The fact that Jesus was admitted into the presence of the Father demonstrates that His sacrifice on the cross was an acceptable sacrifice for sin.
Jesus is the first, but not the last, of resurrected humanity to enter the presence of God the Father. Those of us who have believed in Christ will follow.
Jesus now has the ministry of high priest. He takes our prayers to God the Father. Through Jesus, we now have direct access to the Father. Furthermore, Jesus represents us when we sin. He is our advocate; He pleads our case.
Once in heaven, God the Son sent God the Spirit to accomplish the work of ministry in the lives of believers. This includes the giving of spiritual gifts to accomplish God's work.
Furthermore, Jesus is now preparing a heavenly home for those of us who have believed in Him. One day we will join Him there.
Finally, his ascension into heaven anticipates his return to earth. As the angel told the disciples, the same Jesus who ascended into heaven will return in the same way.
In short, the ascension has a number of very important meanings for the believer.
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