Category: Ascension
The ascension of Christ, his return, and modern cosmology.
When we read in Luke 24.50-51 and Acts 1.9-11 that Christ was taken into heaven we ignore how this imagery made sense to the ancients in light of their cosmology: heaven is above and earth below. Now that we’ve sent satellites, spacecrafts, and even humans into space we realize that this up-and-down universe doesn’t quite exist. Where did Jesus go? Can modern Christians find meaning in the ascension?
Last week I saw this clip from ‘The Jesus Film’ depicting Jesus’ ascension from his point of view:
I admit thinking that it was a bit ridiculous. Why is Jesus floating like a balloon into the sky?
Of course, God could have taken Jesus into his heavenly realm in such a way that it would have made sense to the ancients. Jesus didn’t keep going into space, past Jupiter, to some floating New Jerusalem a few miles past Neptune. Rather, Jesus disappeared into a parallel reality, yet God accomplished this in a way that would have conveyed symbolic meaning to the disciples.
This leaves us with another problem though. The return of Christ is presented to us in 1 Thessalonians 4.13-18 in the same cosmological terminology. Jesus is depicted as coming from heaven above to earth below. How do we read this now? Do we read this Daniel 7 imagery as Paul using symbolic language not intended to describe the return of Christ in literal imagery (as I think N.T. Wright has suggested)?
Brandon G. Withrow wrote a piece for The Huffington Post titled, “Science and the Up and Down of Christ’s Ascension” that discusses some of these very things (including the scene from ‘The Jesus Film’ that I shared). He frames the same question this way:
“Christ’s ascension and return mentioned in Acts made sense in this up-and-down universe; it was not like anyone had ever been to space. This was eventually challenged, however, when the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) introduced the heliocentric view, namely that the earth and the planets move around the sun (helio).
“There were many implications for Copernicus’ position. To reject the idea of heaven as above runs counter to the record of Acts and it could put Jesus’ return into question, particularly since Acts says his return will happen the same way as he left.”
The Johannine language regarding the Second Coming is more compatible with the modern mind. It speaks of Jesus’ “appearing (1 John 2.28).” But do we want to act like the concordist who try to match Genesis 1 to modern science or should we let the ancient worldview stand on its own, let it tell us a theological truth–Christ will return–without trying to explain how this “works?”
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See also:
Larry Hurtado, Jesus’ “Ascension”
The comfort of the ascension.
I wrote these words the other day in another post titled, “Scripture, the Jerusalem Council, and the Spirit’s guidance.” I felt like they were worth reproducing on Ascension Day, especially since I have been discussing one of the most contentious topics for the present church:
Sometimes I am anxious about the future of the church. I worry that we wrongly understand Scripture, or we will wrongly maintain misguided traditions, or we will try to be too acceptable to the culture around us forsaking our Christian identity. When I come to this place I meditate upon a few things:
(1) The sovereignty of God: I don’t mean to sound like John Piper here, but I do find comfort in the reality that God is not weak or confused. As God he may allow humanity in general, and the church more specifically, to wrestle with things and make mistakes, but he doesn’t lose control.
(2) The ascension of Christ: In Acts, Ephesians, and Hebrews we are given a picture of Jesus as reigning already. He hasn’t brought everything into full submission, but God’s chosen King (ala Psalm 2) and judge (ala Daniel 7) has been chosen. Christ our King advocates before God the Father for us.
(3) The infilling of the Holy Spirit: Even when we disagree with one another we must realize that together we create the Temple of God. The Spirit dwells in our midst. We are not alone to make decisions in the dark. Christ has send the Spirit as our guide, counselor, and comforter.
(4) The invitation to prayer: I don’t know how prayer works. I do know that God invites us to pray. Sometimes I find peace in talking to God about the things that unnerve me–both personally and ecclesiastically. God listens and hears.
(5) The Scripture provide a context: Some may see Scripture as the thing that causes confusion, “If we didn’t have those pesky passages about women being silent in the church we could get past this whole debate over gender equality.” I understand that, but I wouldn’t want the alternative where we debate what it means to be a Christian without the story of Israel, Jesus, and the church. As with my example from Acts 15 it is Scripture itself that tells me about how my forefathers and mothers in the faith wrestled with change.
What should Christians do about this and think about that? We must debate and discuss, but we are not alone. God has not lost control. Jesus reigns. The Spirit guides us. We are invited to pray to our God. Scripture shows us that we are part of the same people of God who have gone through many changes in the past.
Jesus from resurrection to ascension.
What did Jesus do between the resurrection and the ascension?
The Ascension of Christ.
In the Gospel of Mark we have the angelic being (a young man in 16.5) informing the disciples that he will meet them in Galilee.
In the Gospel of Matthew Jesus greets the women himself commanding that they tell the other disciples that he will meet them in Galilee (28.10) confirming the message of the angel they met at the tomb (28.7). The disciples meet Jesus in Galilee and they worship him. Jesus informs them that he has received “all power in heaven and earth” and gives them what we call “the Great Commission” to make disciples of the nations (28.19). Then he informs them that he will be with them “even to the end of the age.”
In the Gospel of Luke Jesus appears to two men on the way to Emmaus. He explains how Messiah had to suffer as he did. He joins them for dinner, blesses the breaking of the bread, becomes apparent then disappears (24.13-35). At another point he randomly appears in the midst of the disciples offering them the opportunity to touch his wounds to see that it was him. Then he shared some fish with them (24.36-42). This is followed by another lesson about himself from Scripture with the promise of “power from on high.” (24.43-49) He leads them “as far as Bethany,” blesses them, and ascends into heaven (24.50-51).
In the Book of Acts the story continues with additional details: Jesus was present for forty days doing wonders and teaching about the Kingdom of God, he commanded that the disciples wait in Jerusalem until the promise arrives which he clarifies is the coming Spirit, he tells them that they will be his witnesses, and he ascends into heaven (1.1-9).
In the Gospel of John Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene. She thinks he is the gardener before he says her name and she recognizes him. She tries to cling to him but he says he must go to the Father (20.11-18). Jesus appears to his disciples randomly in a closed room and he offers the disciple Thomas the opportunity to verify his identity by touching his wounds (20.19-29). Our last scene with Jesus is on the shores of Galilee where he appears, tells the disciples how to catch fish, eats a meal with them, and has a long chat with the Apostle Peter about his future (chapter 21).
The Apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15.5-7 that Jesus was seen by Cephas (Peter), then the twelve, then five hundred disciples at once, then his brother James, then the rest who were called “apostles,” then to Paul himself “as one untimely born” which appears to have been after the ascension (at least the Book of Acts outlines it). This passage alone does not divide between Jesus’ appearances before the ascension and afterward, though Paul’s unique designation seems to imply that he saw his encounter with Jesus to be unique, so maybe this means the others saw Jesus before his ascension? In Galatians 2.9 he calls James, Cephas (Peter), and John “pillars” which may be further indication of their primary position as post-resurrection witnesses.
What similarities do we see? We find Jesus appearing to women first in all the Gospels, though the list of women are not exactly the same. We find Jesus being difficult to recognize on some occasions. Jesus can appear and disappear like a non-physical being though he eats food and he can be touched like a physical being. He invites people to see the wounds from his crucifixion indicating some sort of continuation between the body pre-resurrection and post-resurrection. He spends time with various groups, often in Galilee, and these visits seems to be “commissioning” like acts. He returns to God the Father in the Lukan and Johannine accounts, which the Pauline Epistles support elsewhere when speaking of his parousia as do the Johannine Epistles when addressing his “appearing.” In the Catholic Epistles (e.g. 2 Peter 3.1-9) this return seems to have become a central doctrine and a return indicates a departure.
Each story contains unique elements. Some things seem assumed (e.g. Luke-Acts is the only work that details the ascension). Overall we are told of a Jesus who is very much like his pre-resurrection self (eating, being touched, scares from wounds) yet very different (hard to recognize, appearing and disappearing, endowed with exceptional power and authority, able to transition into the heavens).
Wednesdays with Wright: The Point of the Ascension and Pentecost
This week’s N.T. Wright quote is on the point of the ascension and Pentecost:
The question of God’s kingdom in the gospels – the question to which so many parables are the oblique answer – is this: What would it look like if God was in charge here? Supposing, instead of Caesar, or Herod, or the Chief Priests, we had God in charge instead – what would be different, how would things work? We may imagine our schoolchild, grumbling under the harsh rule of a stern teacher, wishing that Dad or Mum could run the school instead; or perhaps, who knows, sometimes the other way round. Israel had dreamed for many generations that her God would come and run the world instead of the horrid tyrants who were presently in charge; and that is what they took Jesus to be talking about, for the good reason that it was what he was talking about. The point of the parables, though, was that it wasn’t going to be like they thought it would be. And the point of Ascension and Pentecost is to show how that plays out: this, it now appears, is what it will look like when God is in charge!
N.T. Wright, “When the Spirit Comes: A Sermon for Pentecost” accessed from here.
