J. Albrecht…Ascension…May 17^th, 2026…Lk. 24:50-53 Our Lord Jesus Christ is Exalted Forever

⁵⁰ And he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. ⁵¹ While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. ⁵² And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, ⁵³ and were continually in the temple blessing God.

Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

INJ Who lives and reigns over all things, keeping your eternal life secure in His grace, DFR:

Throughout history, control of the high ground has been of utmost importance. The Union had the advantage at the Battle of Gettysburg because they were on a hill and the Confederate advance was slowed trying to run up a hill. In WWI, the use of airplanes and balloons were vital to figuring out enemy movements and direct artillery to be more effective against trench warfare. Superiority in the skies allowed Allied bombers to attack manufacturing plants deep in German territory, slowing down their means of resistance. The high ground wasn’t just important for military strategics, but following WWII, the U.S. and Great Britain used air drops to resupply West Berlin during the Cold War.

The need for the “high ground” has not diminished even in modern day. It is the key to a swift and decisive victory. Ascension Sunday has a very similar theme. Jesus’ Ascension, which is officially recognized as happening on this past Thursday, can be seen as Christ seizing the high ground. It’s a beautiful picture for His people, for where did our Savior ascend to but the right hand of power? Meaning, He who humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death on the cross, and He who rose from the dead on the third day, is now exalted with all power and all authority over heaven and earth, power and authority that belongs to God and God alone. Our Savior, whose hands yet bear the marks of our salvation, is forever seated on the “high ground” where He reigns over all things for the benefit of you, His saints. Thus, Christ’s Ascension is God’s final approval of all His work as our Redeemer.

Today, as we celebrate the Savior’s Ascension, let us never forget Our Lord Jesus Christ is Forever Exalted in His Ascension. He rules as King forever to bless us, and He deserves our worship and praise. As we consider the Word of God this morning, let us pray:

Sanctify us by Your truth, O Lord, Your Word is truth, Amen.

Luke does not provide a detailed description of Jesus’ Ascension in his Gospel. He gives more detail in the book of Acts. Here, Luke provides the right amount of detail to bring to conclusion the narrative on Jesus’ life up to His ascension.

Luke tells us He led them out as far as Bethany. That means the Ascension took place on the Mount of Olives. Let’s stand back and consider the significance of location. On the way up the mount, they would cross the brook Kidron, pass by the Garden of Gethsemane, and tread about 300 more feet to the crest of the mount. 43 days earlier, the disciples had seen Jesus at His lowest point as He wrestled in agony with what lay before Him. Besides the cross, it is one of the most vivid images of Jesus’ humiliation. Imagine the thoughts going through the disciples’ heads. As they would inevitably recall the events that came about in that location. Or, imagine the thoughts of Jesus, who would not look on that place in sorrow or as a past trauma, but as a place of victory. It was suffering that He endured, but remained faithful to God His Father and His will.

Now, that scene of His humiliation was met with another, more glorious scene: His exaltation. And which one shall be the lasting legacy of the Savior? The one where He is brought low to be broken before the wrath of God? Or the one where He is lifted up and the Son of Man is glorified with all Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might (Rev. 7:12)? I tell you, Jesus’ Ascension has the high ground. Literally, and eternally.

For as they are on the mount Luke says, lifting up his hands he blessed them. The hands of the Savior likewise were a meeting place of His humiliation and exaltation. He retained the holes in His hands, visible proof of His agony, suffering, and death, but also symbols of His great love for every single one of you, and the proof that even death cannot hold Him. It is from these hands that emit a blessing. Though Luke does not tell us the words Jesus spoke, His hands give the character of what this blessing is. Is and not was, for the blessing of the Ascended Lord remains over His people forever.

As the King victorious and crowned with honor, Jesus alone can dispense the gifts from God over His people. We heard it in our Old Testament Lesson, Isaiah 57, For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.

The blessing Jesus extends over His people is the promise of forgiveness, restoration, and healing that comes from His hands. This blessing invites contrite hearts to bow before His throne and be touched by the same pierced hands that procured your salvation; to see for yourself the price He paid to give you healing. Note where the Lord is: I dwell in the high and holy place. A place where there is no sin, no death. A place that should be untouchable to us. But do not be tricked into thinking that God is “too high” for you to reach, or too holy to care about you. The writer to the Hebrews tells us how God bridged that gap between us, Therefore He (Jesus) had to be made like His brothers in every respect, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Jesus, your Savior, remains as your high priest even today, always interceding before your Father’s throne so that whenever we fall into sin, whenever we disobey our Father’s command, before Satan can draw an accusation against you, Jesus steps before His Father’s throne and says, not that one. My hands have covered them.

As the King victorious, Jesus offers this blessing for our life below, but His blessing also touches our eternal lives. In Colossians 3, Paul wrote, ³ For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When you examine your life, do you see the glory of Christ? Do you see the eternal glory that He has promised for you? No, you do not. What we see is pain day after day. We see suffering and sorrow; distress and anxiousness. What we see with our eyes is a far cry from eternal glory, peace and security that God has promises us. Does that mean God has failed, or that He doesn’t actually give you glory, peace and security? Not at all. Rather, as Paul says, your eternal life is hidden with Christ in God. This is what makes Jesus’ Ascension so precious to you and me.

Eternal glory is something hidden from our eyes, for while we are yet in this world of sin, it would be a great distress to see that glory but not have it yet. Rather, Jesus invites us to put our faith and hope in Him. Trust in Him that the life God has promised you is being kept hidden with your Savior in God. The word, “hidden” can be better understood “as preventing someone from being harmed by anything.” It is a secret. Secret not because nobody should no about it, but because it cannot be touched.

To go back to the importance of the “high ground,” and air superiority, we see that at play here. With Christ in God means that your life rests in heaven right now. It is untouchable by sin, death, and the devil. These and all other enemies have been conquered; they are inferior to Jesus Christ who has ascended to the right hand of God. Your life with Christ cannot be harmed. He is keeping it, keeping you safe, until He returns and that life is revealed.

We are reminded of this every Sunday, are we not? The blessing at the end of the sermon proclaims God’s peace will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. The blessing at the end of the sermon shows forth God’s promise to bless you and keep you and to make His face shine upon you. Such is the character of Jesus’ blessing. Don’t take my word for it, read for yourself all the blessings the Lord extends to you. His blessing is everlasting. It is what filled the disciples with so much joy. Based on their reactions to Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion, and even His resurrection, you would assume that Jesus’ Ascension would be cause for tears and sorrow. But that is far from the case.

What they saw in Jesus’ Ascension was the dawn of a new age. An age in which Jesus would not be physically present, but His promises would be fulfilled. It is an age in which they are called to be witnesses to the incredible grace of God that had been revealed before their very eyes. The disciples wasted no time, but returned to Jerusalem worshipping God in the temple. Amazing, isn’t it? How quickly they accepted God’s will and obeyed Christ’s command to be His witnesses? This is what the absolute victory of Christ does for those with faith. It stirs up hearts to find joy in His departure – not because He has left, but because now He fills all things. There is no trial and tribulation, no struggle nor even the path of death that you can go through and the Lord Jesus is not with you.

We have seen other “ascensions” in the Bible. Enoch walked with God and Elijah was taken into heaven by a whirlwind. But these pale in comparison to the Ascension of Jesus Christ. For Christ’s ascension is the Father’s final Amen on His redemptive work. All is complete and a new work has begun – to rule as King over all things so as to bless His people always. And to keep our lives hidden with Himself, safe and secure from all that threaten us here below.

With this our Savior’s Ascension before us, what can we do, but follow the disciples’ example and find great joy in our post-ascension lives. As Paul says in Philippians 4:4, Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Or find patient trust in Jesus during uncertain times and sing with David in Psalm 27, Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD! Truly He deserves our worship and praise through the end of our days. The Lord Jesus Christ, our God and Savior, be forever exalted in His Ascension, Amen.