Luke 24:44-53 - Where Can We Find the Ascended Lord? - May 29, 2022

There is one particular situation in life that has the ability to change people in an instant. It has the potential to make peaceful, upstanding citizens behave like raving lunatics. It can make even the most laid-back among us do things we wouldn’t normally do. It affects young and old, men and women, black and white, republican and democrat, rich and poor. What’s the situation? Losing something. The adorable sleeping baby loses her pacifier and suddenly turns into a midnight terror. The child who can’t find the last piece to his puzzle or Lego creation turns into an insufferable monster. The pleasant young lady loses her engagement ring and is transformed into a sobbing, inconsolable wreck. The employee who misplaces his car keys will tear apart the house frantically looking for them. Losing things flips a switch in our brains that changes us into completely different people. It makes us panicked, sad, angry, hysterical, frantic – and a whole list of other emotions. Losing things changes people.

On that first Easter evening, the disciples thought they had lost something. Something precious; something that couldn’t be replaced; something they couldn’t live without – they thought they had lost Jesus. They thought the Jewish leaders had succeeded in killing their friend, their teacher, their Savior. And they were right. Jesus did die on Good Friday and his body was sealed in a cold, dark tomb. But that wasn’t the end of the story. Dead Jesus didn’t stay dead. Lost Jesus didn’t stay lost. But even when the risen Lord appeared to his disciples that night, Luke tells us that they were frightened and thought they were seeing a ghost (Luke 24:37). Losing their friend had changed them; they had forgotten Jesus’ promise to rise from the dead after three days (Luke 18:31-33); they were panicked and frightened, worst of all – their faith was shaken. Jesus saw their terrified expressions and sympathized with their panicked hearts. And then he did something about it – he reminded them that he wasn’t lost and he showed them where they could find him. 

The first place Jesus directed them to look was back. These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms. Every word, every comma and period, every story and detail of Scripture was given by God to his inspired writers for one purpose – to point sinners to their Savior (John 5:39). With laser-like precision, God predicted the most important events in the life of his Son hundreds of years before they happened. Already in Genesis 3 God promised that Jesus’ death would bring about Satan’s destruction: he will crush your head and you will crush his heel (Genesis 3:15). In Psalm 22, David put on paper the words that Jesus would speak from the depths of hell: my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? (Psalm 22:1) And thousands of years before Jesus died Job knew what would happen three days later: I know that my Redeemer lives, and that at the end of time he will stand over the dust (Job 19:25). It was all there in black and white: Jesus lives, Jesus dies, Jesus rises victorious. 

The disciples should have known that their Savior wasn’t lost – because Scripture said so. But they didn’t. They didn’t understand that their Savior had to die so they could live. And what’s worse – they couldn’t understand, they couldn’t find Jesus in the Old Testament on their own…and neither can we. That’s because every human is born with the terrible disease of spiritual blindness (1 Corinthians 1:18-19). We are blind to the eternal consequences of our sin and to the saving message of the Gospel. But that was something Jesus wouldn’t stand for, so he did something about that, too: he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. 

Without that gift, we would see the Bible like so many still do; as an irrelevant and outdated book of myths and fairytales. But Jesus has opened our eyes to see, he has enlightened our minds to understand, and opened our ears to hear the repentance and forgiveness of sins [that] will be preached in his name to all nations. Repentance and forgiveness. Those are the dual operations God performs on us to cure our spiritual blindness. He stands us in front of the mirror of his law to see the sin that stains us (Romans 3:20). He shows us that on our own we are the ones who are lost. That image we see in the law’s mirror is not pretty; when we see our sins; when we see how we lack even a hint of the perfection God demands, we lose it, we panic. It’s a picture that leaves us no choice but to turn to God with empty hands, confess our sins, and beg for his mercy. That’s repentance. That’s the change of mind and heart God performs in us. But then the image in the mirror immediately changes. We no longer see our ugly, sinful selves looking back – no, we see Jesus’ smiling, merciful face; we see the nail-pierced hands and feet that endured suffering and death to wash away our sins. That’s forgiveness. That’s the good news that although we were lost, Jesus found us and saved us. That’s the message Jesus has opened our minds to understand and believe. That’s the Savior we still find in the pages of his Word.

But promises and prophecies are empty without fulfillment, and (like a tree falling in the forest) fulfillment is useless if no one is there to witness it. We were lost and would still be lost if Jesus couldn’t verify that he was the promised Messiah. But he did – as he reminds his disciples: you are witnesses of these things. “You’ve seen my miracles and heard my sermons and witnessed my resurrection. So be what I’ve made you: witnesses of my words and works.” What does a witness do? A witness testifies to what he has seen and heard – no more and no less. In fact, the entire NT is just that: a living witness to the person and work of Jesus. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, are all the proof we need that Jesus has fulfilled every one of the OT promises about him.

The disciples did their job – they faithfully witnessed to people of all nations that Jesus is the Christ, the promised Messiah. Now it’s our turn. Now we are the witnesses. Does the thought of proclaiming repentance and forgiveness make you anxious or apprehensive? You’re not alone. Satan wants to prevent us from witnessing the truth of Jesus at all costs. He makes it seem like a job better done by someone else. He wants us to think that we aren’t smart enough or well-spoken enough or charming enough to tell others about Jesus. But what does a witness do? He testifies to what he has seen – no more and no less. It doesn’t have to be clever. Witnesses don’t have to deliver carefully formulated theological essays. Witnesses aren’t even bound to convince people that what they are saying is true: that’s the Holy Spirit’s job. Witnesses simply tell others what they have seen and heard. That’s our job – that’s the essence of the gospel ministry. That’s the second place we find Jesus still today: on the lips of his witnesses.   

For 40 days after his resurrection, Jesus appeared to his chosen witnesses, he coached them, he gave them the words they should say and encouraged them to remain faithful. But now His earthly ministry was over. It was time for him to return to his Father in heaven and take his rightful place as King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 19:16). The location Jesus chose for his Ascension is significant. He led his disciples to the hillside near Bethany called the Mount of Olives (Acts 1:12). From this mountain Jesus could look down on the high place where the devil tried to bribe him with all the kingdoms of the world (Luke 4:9). In the garden located on this mountain, Jesus struggled with his Father in prayer and was betrayed, arrested and hauled off to be crucified (Luke 22:39-46). That significance couldn’t have been lost on the disciples – the same place where it seemed like Jesus wouldn’t and couldn’t win was the very place he chose to demonstrate his ultimate triumph over sin and Satan by returning victorious to his throne in heaven. 

But before Jesus left, he gave his church one final gift: he lifted up his hands and blessed them. This was more than a symbolic gesture. This was Jesus’ promise to his disciples that he would always be with them, always watching over them. With this blessing, Jesus effectively bestowed on the church his blessings of joy and peace – bought and paid for by his death and resurrection. Notice also that Jesus continued to bless his disciples even as he ascended into the sky. It means that Jesus left this earth blessing us, when he returns it will be a blessing for us, and even now, even though we can’t see him, he is holding his powerful hands over us, blessing us with his guidance and protection. (Which we are reminded of every time we close a service with the blessing.)

With that he parted from them and was taken up into heaven. What kind of reaction would you expect from the disciples at this point? Wouldn’t we expect to see tears streaming down their faces? Wouldn’t we expect mourning and sadness from these men who appeared to have lost their best and truest friend? We get sad when loved ones depart after a reunion. Our hearts are heavy when we say goodbye to a fellow believer who has passed away. That first Easter evening, the disciples were distraught and inconsolable when they thought their Savior had been taken away from them in death. Now he is physically leaving them and they know they won’t see him or walk with him or eat a meal with him again until he returns in glory. We would expect to see sorrow; but we see just the opposite. They worshipped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy.

Finally, the disciples understood. Now, they knew better, they knew that they had lost nothing and had found more than they could have ever hoped for. Now they understood that Jesus had to suffer and die in order to save them from their sins. Now they understood that Jesus had never intended to set up an earthly kingdom, but rather to rule in his people’s hearts through the Gospel. They had walked and talked and listened to Jesus for three years – and now he would be at their side forever. Jesus’ presence, which had been limited for a time to a single, physical location, would now fill the universe – so that wherever two or three people gather in His name, he would be there with them (Matthew 18:20). In other words, by leaving this earth Jesus is actually closer to us. He is present whenever a man, woman or child come to his font to be washed with water and the Word. He is present to offer his true body and blood every time we receive the Lord’s Supper. And whenever you hear the gospel proclaimed in Jesus’ name, the voice you hear may be that of a mere mortal, but the message is that of your risen and ascended Lord. Jesus is as close to you as your Bible and is ready to hear your prayers – wherever you are. No, Jesus isn’t lost; he is right here among us constantly blessing us by his presence in Word and Sacrament.

Losing something changes people. It can make perfectly sane people behave like lunatics. On Ascension it may seem like we’ve lost our Savior. But that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Jesus isn’t lost. He is exactly where he should be: at his Father’s right hand ruling the universe for the good of his church (Ephesians 1:20-22). The next time you find that missing pacifier or puzzle piece or keys, rejoice that God has opened your eyes to find your ascended Lord in the pages of scripture, on the lips of his witnesses, and in the joy of his blessing. Amen.