Saying “goodbye” is hard. If you’ve ever had to send someone off on a long journey or a child off to college, you know what I’m talking about. I’ve got a good friend that is preparing for that very thing right now—saying goodbye to a daughter that has enrolled in a school far away. I remember saying goodbye to one of my closest friends when he went overseas to Eastern Europe on missions for an undetermined period of time. I wept as we said goodbye. Goodbyes can be hard.
In John 16 when Jesus told his disciples that he was “going to the Father,” they were sorrowful (see John 16:16-24). Their dearly beloved master was leaving them and it broke their hearts.
However, Jesus said their sorrow “will turn to joy” (verse 20). He also said plainly that it is “better” that he leave (John 16:7). Why? Because the ascension of Christ to the Father is gain, not loss for the Christian. Below I outline three reasons why.
The Gift of the Holy Spirit
First, because when Jesus returns to the Father, the Church is baptized in the Holy Spirit. This is the reason Jesus himself gives in John 16:7:
Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.
The Spirit of God is a precious gift to the church. Jesus tells us in John 14 that the Spirit of God will enable his followers to do “greater works” (14:12), will indwell his people (14:20), and will “teach you all things and bring to remembrance all that I have said to you” (14:26). Once Christ returns to the Father, God the Spirit will be sent and will live inside each person. In the words of Pastor Sam Storms, “the Spirit inside of you is better than Jesus beside you.”
A Human Being Now Sits on the Throne of the Universe
When Christ descended to earth, he added to himself a human nature. When he was raised from the dead and then later ascended he did not shed his flesh but retained it and now sits in heaven in the flesh. Passages like Acts 1:10-11 show us that Christ’s ascension happened in the body and that his return will also be in the body:
10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
So Jesus was taken up in the flesh to heaven. Philippians 2:8-11 explains some of what this means:
And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
The ascension of Christ was his exaltation—his enthronement. Because Christ perfectly accomplished all the Father’s will, God raised him up and seated him at the highest position of power in the universe. Jesus the God-Man, now sits on heaven’s throne and will return in great glory. One thing this means is that all authority on heaven and on earth is in Jesus’ hands (see Matthew 28:18-20). He is the rightful sovereign and king and is ruling over all things as we speak.
Imagine the implications of this: a human being is reigning on the throne of the universe.
When an Olympic athlete stands up on the podium, receives a medal and wraps himself or herself in their flag, that means something not only for the person standing there but for the entire nation. There is a sense of validation. A sense of significance because the person up there on that podium with that flag, represents us. It is a deeply powerful thing.
Right now, Jesus represents us in the very throne room of God. Fully God, fully man. He is there, standing there for us. Hebrews 4:14-16 unpacks what this means for us:
14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Christ’s Ministry to Us and Through Us is Infinitely Expanded
During Christ’s earthly ministry Jesus’s work was geographically limited. In His human nature, He was bound to the one place that He was in. So Jesus wasn’t teaching in Israel and also in Cuba at the same time. He wasn’t healing in Nazareth and also in Nigeria and Kenya.
But now that He is seated at the right hand of God, He is at work everywhere. When he ascended to throne of the universe, God put everything—“all authority” (Matthew 28:18)—in his hands. The result was that his priestly ministry became global and was no longer confined to one place. The Scriptures tell us that this was the plan all along (Gen. 22:15-18; Matthew 8:5-13). The book of Acts tells the story of how Jesus’ work exploded out of Jerusalem and into the world through the work of the Holy Spirit through his chosen apostles. What began with a few is now a global movement of over two billion.
The Ascension of Christ made all of this possible.
