Tag Archives: Reign

What Good Is An Absent Jesus? (An Ascension Day Question)

Jesus told His disciples “It is for your good that I am going away” (John 16:7). Would the disciples be better off without Jesus? What good is an absent Jesus?  The best expression of the answer, I believe, comes from the Heidelberg Catechism question and answer 49 which deals with the meaning of Jesus’ ascension. It has a three part answer.

First, “He pleads our cause in heaven in the presence of his Father.” Jesus advocates for our position. He defends and represents us, pleads our cases and causes and intercedes for us. “Who then will condemn us? Will Christ Jesus? No, for he is the one who died for us and was raised to life for us and is sitting at the place of highest honor next to God, pleading for us”  (Romans 8:34).

So we can:

  • Let go of our guilt. “…if you do sin, there is someone to plead for you before the Father. He is Jesus Christ …He takes away not only our sins but the sins of the whole world.” (I John 2:1-2).
  • Draw near to God. Jesus died to open the way to God so we can build an intimate personal relationship with Him.
  • Pray expectantly. After he told the disciples that He was going away Jesus said “You can ask for anything in my name and I will do it, because the work of the Son brings glory to the Father. Yes, ask anything in my name and I will do it” (John 14:13-14).

The second good the Catechism states is “…we have our own flesh in heaven – a guarantee that Christ our head will take us, His members, to Himself in heaven.” Jesus assures us of His protection. Just before He ascended He said, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” Paul then wrote “… (he is) seated at (God’s) right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet…”  (Ephesians 1:21 ff.).

He reigns from heaven but rules the earth. He may be absent in person from the earth, but He is positioned on the seat of divine power. Enemies with us and around us cannot destroy or deter us. We do fight against the flesh, the world, Satan, and the threat of death – but the battle has already been won! We may fail; we may fall ill; we may suffer misfortune; we may endure persecution; we may find our hopes dashed; life may fall to pieces all around us – but God is the ruler yet! Our future is guaranteed!

So we can walk by faith, not by sight.  As Peter wrote “You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him, you trust him; and even now you’re happy with a glorious, inexpressible joy. Your reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls” (1 Peter 1:8-9). So how do you feel? What does your life and faith communicate to a disbelieving world? Do you find yourself saying, “The world is such an awful place” or singing, “This is my Father’s world!” Walk by faith, not by sight – break apart the clouds of depression, rise above defeat, believe during uncertainty, build on failure. As the great hymn rings out: “When darkness veils his lovely face, I rest on his unchanging grace. On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.”  Walk by faith, not by sight – for Jesus assures us of his protection.

The Catechism answer concludes, “Third, he sends his Spirit to us on earth as a further guarantee. By the spirit’s power we make the goal of our lives, not earthly things, but the things above where Christ is, sitting at God’s right hand.”  Jesus assists us with his power. “For His Holy Spirit speaks to us deep in our hearts and tells us that we are God’s children. And since we are his children, we will share his treasures – for everything God gives to his Son, Christ, is ours, too” (Romans 8:16-17). He sends His spirit to focus us. We become conscious that we are children of God, brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ! Paul wrote, “Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits at God’s right hand in the place of honor and power” (Colossians 3:1). The Holy Spirit pulls us away from thoughts of sin and towards thoughts of Christ. The law of gravity acts to keep a plane from flying. But when a plane reaches a certain speed, the law of aerodynamics takes over and frees the plane from the effects of gravitational force. So the Holy Spirit frees us from the gripping, magnetic power of sin and sets our eyes and minds on Christ.

So we can be faithful. The Thessalonians were so sure Jesus was coming again very soon that they stopped everything to wait for Him. But Paul told them to get busy. There is to be no loitering – stop standing around, stop resting on memories of the way it used to be, stop waiting for things to change or get better. That’s why Jesus’ final words were “Go…make disciples… baptize…teach…obey.” The battle is over, the victory is secure. Get busy mopping up. We dare to believe that ordinary people like us have been called and empowered to be the continuation of Christ’s ministry on the world.

Puccini was one of the greatest composers of Italian opera, having composed such works as La Boheme and Madame Butterfly. He began his last opera, Turandot, as he was dying of cancer, convinced that if he did not finish it, his students would; and he died before it was completed. After his death the opera was completed, and its premiere performance was held, under the direction of Arturo Toscanini, who was the greatest conductor of that time and also one of Puccini’s  students. All went brilliantly until at the end of the first scene in the third act, Toscanini abruptly halted the performance, laid down his baton, turned to the audience with tears streaming down his face, and said, ”Thus far the master wrote, but he died..” There was stunned silence. Then, triumphantly he picked up the baton and said, “But his disciples have completed his work.” Since Jesus assists us with His power, we can be faithful. Let’s finish the work!

 

Staking Claim

(1)

“The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the King of Israel!” Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written, “Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.”” (John 12:12-15) The reality is that Jesus was now the commander of the Lord’s army. He was ushering in the host of heaven to win the day and establish the Kingdom of God. Jesus was taking over, staking his claim over all of life.

He had staked his claim over THE PHYSICAL REALM of life. Through the fall of Adam, humans lost dominion over the earth. Jesus reclaimed it. At his command the wind stopped, the storms ceased, water became wine, fish appeared where there had been none, and five loaves and two fish fed over 5,000 people; lame people walked, blind people gained sight, deaf people started to hear. Jesus was ushering in a new Kingdom, preparing for a new heaven and a new earth of which He would be the source of life and light.

Jesus had also staked His claim over THE MORAL REALM. There was the day He was teaching in the middle of a house when four men, desperate to bring their paralyzed friend to Jesus, sawed a hole in the roof of the house and lowered the man on his stretcher so Jesus would have to deal with him.

“Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “My child, your sins are forgiven.” But some of the teachers of religious law who were sitting there thought to themselves “What is he saying? This is blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!” Jesus knew immediately what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you question this in your hearts? Is it easier to say to the paralyzed man ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk’? So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!” And the man jumped up, grabbed his mat, and walked out through the stunned onlookers. They were all amazed and praised God, exclaiming, “We’ve never seen anything like this before!” (Mark 2:5-12) (2) Jesus was emphatically saying, “Let this visible miracle be proof that I have authority over the invisible realm. I have authority over the moral realm.” So Jesus had authority to preach “Be perfect, therefore, as your Father in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48) “If you love me, you will obey what I command.” (John 14:15)

And Jesus had staked claim to the SPIRITUAL REALM. Joshua met the commander of the army of the Lord, the heavenly host. Jacob saw this host when he returned from exile. Elisha’s servant saw this host surrounding God’s people just prior to battle. Jesus spoke of the host when, leaving Gethsemane, He indicated He could have called twelve legions of angels who were at His disposal; but He did not. Jesus knew that through His death on the cross, He would reclaim the spiritual realm. One day He would even send His Spirit to fill His followers, which led John to write “…the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4) Jesus was staking His claim and taking over.

Additionally Jesus had staked His claim over the ETERNAL REALM. On several occasions, he brought dead people back to life. The most dramatic occurrence had been calling Lazarus forth from his tomb. He did this just after proclaiming “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” (John 11:25-26) Jesus gave proof to His claim that He was the Resurrection and the Life. He had firmly staked his claim to the eternal realm. (3)

Fast forward 40-50 years to the Island of Patmos, to an old man banished into exile because of his preaching about Jesus. It’s John. While there, God lifted him up in the Spirit and shared with him what was yet to come. He was reminded that JESUS HAD STAKED HIS CLAIM AND HE IS IN CHARGE. “Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and True, for he judges fairly and wages a righteous war. His eyes were like flames of fire, and on his head were many crowns. A name was written on him that no one understood except himself. He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his title was the Word of God. The armies of heaven, dressed in the finest of pure white linen, followed him on white horses. From his mouth came a sharp sword to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will release the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty, like juice flowing from a winepress. On his robe at his thigh was written this title: King of all kings and Lord of all lords.” (Revelation 19:11-16 New Living Translation) Jesus is the Lord of life and death, the only Sovereign King and ruler of all of life. He is Christ the Victor. Jesus has staked His claim and He is in charge. He alone reigns forever – the eternal King of kings and Lord of lords!

An old parable goes like this:

“The donkey (4) awakened, his mind still savoring the afterglow of the most exciting day of his life. Never before had he felt such a rush of pleasure and pride. He walked into town and found a group of people by the well. “I’ll show myself to them,” he thought. But they didn’t notice him. They went on drawing their water and paid him no mind. “Throw your garments down,” he said crossly. “Don’t yyou know who I am?” They just looked at him in amazement. Someone slapped him across the tail and ordered him to move. “Miserable heathens!” he muttered to himself. “I’ll just go to the market where the good people are. They will remember me.” But the same thing happened. No one paid any attention to the donkey as he strutted down the main street in front of the market- place. “The palm branches! Where are the palm branches!” he shouted. “Yesterday, you threw palm branches!” Hurt and confused, the donkey returned home to his mother. “Foolish child,” she said gently. “Don’t you realize that without him, you are just an ordinary donkey?” (5)

Just like the donkey that carried Jesus into Jerusalem, when we lift up Jesus Christ we are no longer ordinary people; then we are key players in God’s plan to redeem the world. The game plan is before us. Let’s get busy!

(1) Picture from LOGOS
(2) Ibid
(3) Ibid
(4) Photo by Andre Iv on Unsplash
(5) Jim Benedict, “Not what we had in mind,” Union Bridge Church of the Brethren website, April 1, 2012. cob-net.org.