Psalm 47 + Acts 1:1-11 + Mark 16.14-20
The Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
“Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples! Shout to God with the voice of triumph!” We sang these words a few moments ago in the Introit. They are the first words of the forty-seventh psalm, in which the sons of Korah prophesied Christ’s ascension when they wrote: “God has gone up with a shout, The Lord with the sound of a trumpet. Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises! For God is the King of all the earth; Sing praises with understanding. God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne” (Ps 47.5-8). What the sons of Korah saw darkly by the Spirit of prophecy, we see clearly through the testimony of the apostles. St. Luke tells us in today’s epistle that on the fortieth day after His resurrection from the dead, the Lord Jesus was taken up, and cloud received Him out of their sight. St. Mark records that He was received up into Heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.” He sits at the right hand of God to rule as king of all the earth and to reign over the nations.
And because He has ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father almighty, we no longer see Him. And because we no longer see Him on earth as the apostles did, it is tempting to think that He is absent from us, that He sits far off in heaven, away from us, away from the world, sitting idly by, not having much to do with the world anymore. The twenty-four-hour news cycle seems to confirm this. It doesn’t look as if Christ is king of all the earth, reigning over the nations. If anything, it looks as if the mice play while the cat is away. Nation rises up against nation. Peoples revolt against their own government. Wars and rumors of war persist. The world scoffs at the idea that Christ has ascended and now rules as king of all the earth. The nations do not want a king over them all, and they certainly don’t want Christ to be that king. They’re quite willing to let Him rule in heaven, up there, away from here, because that means the world gets to rule itself, and everyone can work to carve out their own territory, their own kingdom, their own little fiefdom where they reign supreme.
But God has gone up with a shout, The Lord with the sound of a trumpet. Christ has ascended to heaven and sits at the right hand of God, not to be away and aloof, removed and remote from the world. Quite the opposite. God, St. Paul writes to the Ephesians, “seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church,which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all” (Eph 1:20–23). God the Father exalted Christ above all powers in this age and in the age to come. God the Father put all things under Christ’s feet, so that Christ truly reigns over all things in this world. Nor is He distant and sequestered from this world. He fills all in all. He is present everywhere. Everything is present to Him as He reigns over all things.
And at this point it must be remembered that His reign over all things—over the kingdoms and countries of this world especially—is hidden. It is something that is not obvious to the senses. Christ’s reign over all things is hidden under the fact that He uses human governments to rule this world. St. Paul writes in Romans 13, “The authorities that exist are appointed by God” (Ro 13:1). He even says of the earthly ruler, “He is God’s minister to you for good” and “an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil” (Ro 13:4). The fact that Christ reigns over all things—and that He does so through sinful men and women—is an article of faith. If we approach the topic by human reason and understanding, it offends us to see Christ reigning through such sinful people, and often, despite such sinful people.
But it must also be remembered that for now, during this New Testament period, Christ’s goal is not an earthly kingdom, earthly peace, or earthly prosperity. The apostles, thinking that Christ would establish an earthly kingdom, asked Him, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” But it was not for them to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. He is not speaking about a restored earthly kingdom of Israel here. He is speaking about the day and hour that no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but His Father only (Mt 24:36) — the day of His return in glory. On that day He will make His reign over all things visible. That day will come, but it is not on that day, nor any day up to now. Until He returns in like manner as the apostles’ saw Him go into heaven, He rules hiddenly for the sake of the church.
He rules all things in heaven and earth for the sake of the church, so that the gospel may go forth into all the world to save people from their sins and everlasting punishment. Before He ascended, He told His apostles, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.” Christ rules all things, in a way that is hidden from us, for this purpose. He wants the gospel preached that every creature. He wants the gospel to fill the world, so that all people—men, women, and children—who believe in Him, that He has made perfect payment for the sins of the world, and are baptized into His death and resurrection, have the forgiveness of their sins, are rescued from death, and have eternal salvation.
And since Christ fills all in all, He was present in the apostles’ ministry. St. Mark writes that after Jesus ascended, “They went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs.” Whenever the gospel is preached, Christ is present, working on the hearts of those who hear it. He worked with the apostles through their preaching to create faith in men’s hearts. He even adorned their preaching with the signs He promised to them. The apostles cast out demons in Jesus’ name. They spoke in new tongues at Pentecost. St. Paul took up a serpent in hand. St. John allegedly drank poison yet lived. The apostles laid hands on the sick and healed them. These signs showed unbelievers that the apostles’ gospel was not their own, but was from God Himself in heaven so that they might believe and be baptized.
Christ no longer adorns His ministry with such signs. He could, if He wills. But what Paul wrote to the Corinthians about tongues applies to all miraculous signs, “Tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but prophesying—explaining the word of God—is not for unbelievers but for those who believe.” Signs only adorn the ministry; they confirm the apostles’ word as true, they are not the ministry itself. But Christ is still present in His ministry, working through it to preach the gospel to every creature, that He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. He works the far greater miracle than any of the promised signs as by creating faith in human hearts, by regenerating those who are dead in trespass and sin through the waters of holy baptism, and by renewing their hearts, their minds, and their wills, so that they live godly lives, pray, hear His word, and persevere in faith unto the end. He rules all things in heaven and earth for the sake of those who believe, that they might remain steadfast in this faith and persevere in it. He rules so that all things—even hardship and trial, disease and temptation—work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose (Ro 8:28).
Your Lord Jesus has ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father almighty. Yet He is not far away. He has not gone “up there” and left us “down here.” He has promised, “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Mt 28:20). He is with you through His gospel. He with you through His Word. He is with you because He has baptized you. He is with you, wherever you go and whatever you go through because He ascended to the Father “that He might fill all things “(Eph 4:10). And filling all things—having all things present to Him—is with you, never to leave you, never to forsake you, but to reign in you by His gospel, that where He is, you may be also. Amen.
May the peace of God which surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
