For a lot of Christians, this ascension account is a bit strange; something we are not quite sure what to do with. It seems a bit of an embarrassment in a scientific, rational world – a bit too much like a comic book or Marvel movie superhero flying off to space.

It raises so many questions: Is Jesus staying or going? Has Jesus now returned to his ‘extraordinary, marvellous, miraculous spectacular state’ as Sir David Attenborough would put it.

Is Jesus an immortal soul that is taking off with Elon Musk to some other place? Is he still human at all or is he now finally back in his God-body? Is this like the recent Artemis II blast off where Jesus is taking a trip to another planet or reality but will be back eventually? Were Led Zeppelin right when they penned that Rock classic, Stairway to Heaven; heaven as a whole other place to which one has to climb?

And, in the end, who cares anyway. This is not Christmas or Easter. I have never found an Ascension Day card in any shop in Australia or had any reason to send one!

Luke cares enough to share this moment twice. What f this moment is right up there with Christmas and Easter? What if Jesus’ ascension brings everything he ever did and said together? What if this moment sets his rule and transforming of the world in motion?

Most biblical scholars say this is what this ascension is. It is victorious King Jesus taking up his rule. He is like Caesar Augustus riding back into Rome after defeating Rome’s enemies to cement his absolute power and ascension to be ‘Son of God’ in the Roman view of the world, this is the victorious all powerful Jesus’ ascending to his throne to rule not merely one empire but the universe he created.

The disciples seem to want it to be a big moment. They ask the obvious question.

They have seen him do what he said. He took it all, gave it all and now has risen despite it all. It must be time to do it all!

He hoses down their long-awaited enthusiasm for ascendency with an answer that basically says; friends, this is none of your business! There is now work to do. Back to work!

So, if the ascension of Jesus says he is ‘seated at the right hand of the Father, from when he will come to just the living and dead’ (Nicene Creed), why doesn’t this moment gets the ascendency it should?

I think it is because we have unknowingly been very much shaped by an opposite view of the world.

We seem to see ‘heaven’ as some other entirely different space.

Those children’s bible and stain glass images of Jesus ascending up into clouds only leaving his feet exposed to the awe-inspired disciples below have not helped us. Neither have hymns and songs that speak of ‘heaven’, as some completely different space. Hymns like The Old Rugged Cross: In verse four we sing:

4. To that old rugged cross I will ever be true

It’s shame and reproach gladly bear;

Then he’ll call me some day to my home far away

Where his glory forever I’ll share

If heaven is so far away and different to us, then do how can Jesus be present with us?

Maybe ‘We got to get out of this place if it’s the last thing we ever do’?

I have been learning that in the ancient world, and so for Luke, heaven was never far away from your everyday.

For ancient pagans, the gods are everywhere. Streets, temples, homes, landscapes covered with inscriptions and statues and the performance of rituals to keep the gods happy because the gods can and do effect everything all the time. They are close.

But the gods are definitely not human. They live in some other sphere removed but still influential on us. They are not human at all, but don’t mind inflicting pain on humans or blessing them, and you can never really know why you get either!

But in trying to deal with certainty of death we reach for some connection to life in this far off heaven. We go to ancient Greek thinkers like Plato. We humans have a soul; and eternal soul that outlives the stuff of flesh and bones and blood and earth, sea and sky. When we die this eternal soul finds its home among the gods, or ‘goes to heaven’.

Friends, this is not the biblical view of things at all.

This Ascension moment says the dead-opposite. Jesus, God’s Son remains fully human and he stays close, right here.

Jesus is still human? Note in verse 4 that Jesus has just come out to this high hill from eating another meal with them. He has been doing this for over a month.

We hear from other New Testament writers that Jesus still has the scars on his body. He speaks. He breathes our air.

This human and divine resurrected Jesus is departing, for sure, but not for some other entirely different ‘spiritual’ ‘world of souls’.

From Genesis 1 on, ‘heaven and earth’ are the twin halves of God’s good creation. They are designed for each other and to eventually come together as one. This human Jesus is the centre in for both coming together as one, with his human body in our space entering God’s holy space with us in tow.

That is what Peter says on Pentecost day:

Is this why the New Testament writers, in particular Paul and John, often speak of Jesus ‘coming’ more as his ‘appearing’?

It is like heaven and earth are closely interlocked with heavenly reality firmly centred on Jesus and close to us, and yet hidden behind a curtain ready to be pulled back.

Jesus ascension to rule is not about him going to some other place away from here, but sitting at the Father’s right hand among us – those feet on the ground, holding the place of authority as King of kings and Lord of all lords. His ‘going up’ is taking up his authoritative rule, not flying off into space!

NT Wright suggests that ‘heaven’; in the bible is all about that authority; that rule. Heaven is here and it is like the CEO’s office. It is the place from which the world is ultimately run.

As a result, the world’s only hope for future joy and peace is that human Son of God running this world from among us. That is what the Old Testament points us to, particularly in Psalm 8

Friends, Jesus is that majestic and authoritative one now raised and ruling, as was marked out for him from the very beginning.

Because Jesus is now present and ruling here, we now have a place, and it is his place and ours forever.

We don’t need another place. We are together in this renewing place and shall be forever.

Now we have a hope in everything because our present and future are hidden with the hidden and yet present Lord of lords, our Lord.

And now we have purpose.

My goal is not to merely go to some far off ‘heaven’ when I die but live with you with our feet in heaven with Jesus right here before and beyond the day we rest in him.

From history we hear that within a hundred years of Jesus’ resurrection and ascension, the Roman Caesar is getting letters from provincial rulers across the vast empire asking him what they should do about the jolly Christians. They are everywhere! Despite what we do or don’t do to them they seem to keep growing!

Maybe it is because they never kept looking to escape to ‘heaven in the sky’?

So, this resurrection promise we have has its effect. Resurrection future enables us to keep living in the present no matter th fear or the world power at work or how unstable it all seems to be.

Here’s where St Paul takes the people of his day

Bible Study: Ascension of Our Lord

Key Passage

Acts 1:1–11

Opening Questions

• When you hear the word “ascension,” what pictures or ideas come to mind?
• Why do you think Ascension Day often receives less attention than Christmas or Easter?
• What questions do people today have about heaven, Jesus’ presence, and the meaning of his rule?

Read and Observe

• What does Luke say Jesus did during the forty days after his resurrection?
• What promise does Jesus tell the disciples to wait for?
• What question do the disciples ask Jesus in verse 6?
• How does Jesus redirect their attention in verses 7–8?
• What do the angels say to the disciples as they keep looking into the sky?

Explore the Text

Acts 1 opens the book not as a new story, but as the continuation of what Jesus began to do and teach. The ascension is not the end of Jesus’ work. It is the beginning of his Spirit-empowered mission through his people. Scholars regularly note that Acts 1:1–11 functions as a bridge from Luke’s Gospel into the life and mission of the church, with the risen Jesus still teaching about the kingdom of God and preparing the disciples for witness.

• What does Jesus’ talk about the kingdom of God suggest about the main concern of the risen Christ?
• How is Jesus’ ascension more about enthronement and authority than simply “going away”?
• Why is it important that Jesus remains the risen and embodied Lord?
• How does the image of the cloud help us think about God’s presence and glory?

Jesus refuses to satisfy the disciples’ curiosity about dates and times. Instead, he gives them a vocation: they will receive power through the Holy Spirit and become his witnesses from Jerusalem outward to the ends of the earth. This movement provides the program for the whole book of Acts and shows that ascension leads directly to mission, not passivity.

• Why do you think Jesus tells the disciples not to focus on “times or dates”?
• What kind of power does the Holy Spirit give for Christian life and witness?
• What might it mean for our congregation to be Christ’s witnesses in our own Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth?
• Where do you see the temptation to stand looking into the sky instead of taking up the mission Jesus gives?

The ascension also reshapes how we think about heaven. In the New Testament, Jesus’ ascension is closely tied to his exaltation, authority, and ongoing presence, not simply to distance. Connections with texts like Psalm 8 and Colossians 3 help frame Christian hope: humanity’s calling is fulfilled in the risen Jesus, and our life is now hidden with Christ in God as we await his appearing. Writers and teachers on the ascension often stress that this event is the indispensable bridge between resurrection and Pentecost, and the moment that makes sense of Christ’s present reign.

• How has your understanding of “heaven” been shaped over time?
• How does the ascension challenge the idea that Jesus has simply gone far away?
• What encouragement comes from knowing that Christ rules now and that our life is hidden with him?
• How does the ascension give purpose to everyday life in the world?

Helpful Cross References

• Luke 24:50–53 — Luke’s other account of the ascension
• Psalm 8 — humanity’s calling and rule under God
• Psalm 47 — God the King who reigns
• Daniel 7:13–14 — the Son of Man receiving dominion
• Colossians 3:1–4 — our life hidden with Christ
• Ephesians 1:15–23 — Christ exalted over every power

Application

• This week, where do you need to trust Christ’s present rule rather than your own understanding?
• What is one place where you need the courage and power of the Holy Spirit to witness more clearly?
• How might our church live as a people who do not escape the world, but serve it under the reign of Christ?
• What would it look like to live with hope because Jesus is not absent, but reigning and present?

Closing Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, ascended and reigning, open our eyes to your presence and rule. Fill us with your Holy Spirit, turn us from idle looking into faithful witness, and teach us to live with hope, courage, and joy in your kingdom. Keep our life hidden in you until the day you appear in glory; for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

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