A, Ascension of our Lord - Luke 24:44-53 "The Forty Day Bracket"

Luke 24:44-53 (ESV)  Then Jesus said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”  Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,  and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead,  and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.  You are witnesses of these things.  And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”  And he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them.  While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven.  And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God.

Jesus’ ministry of salvation is bracketed between two periods of forty days.  After Jesus was baptised in the Jordan by John, he received the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit drove him out into the wilderness for forty days.  It’s here he suffered want and was tempted by the devil. 

Then after his resurrection from the dead, for forty days he was caused to be seen periodically by individuals and groups, to show he was raised from the dead.  He ate fish and cooked for his apostles, to show them he was raised back to life as a glorified man, before his ascension.

The apostles were witnesses of Jesus’ way, Jesus’ truth, and Jesus’ life between these two periods of time.  Not a lot has been made known to us about Jesus in these two periods of forty days.  But from what we know, the first was a time of testing and tribulation, a foretaste of his three years of ministry culminating in his crucifixion. 

Then the next forty-day period, begins at sun-up on the day of Jesus’ resurrection, Sunday, the first day of victory, the first day of the new week of eternity.

As it was for the apostles, it is hard for us to understand Jesus’ resurrected existence.  At his appearance they were still uncertain and confused as to how this could be.  They were witnesses to his death.  And now they were witnesses to his resurrection.  On their own they were still full of doubts!

But at this time, he breathed the peace of the Holy Spirit on them (John 20:19-23).  And he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures (Luke 24:45).  Scriptures here must be understood as the Old Testament, since they were yet to write down what they witnessed of Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, ascension, and the Holy Spirit’s beginning of the calling and gathering of the church at Pentecost.

Jesus makes plain the fulfilment of his way in the Law of Moses, his truth in the mouths of the Prophets, and his life in his prayers prayed in the Psalms.  He gives the apostles understanding of his submission under the word of God, as the Word made flesh, to be the victor through being the fulfilment of the Word, having been the sacrifice for our salvation.

Not only does Jesus open the minds of his apostles to the Scriptures, with the Holy Spirit, he also gives them clarity of remembrance, bringing back to mind the events of his ministry leading up to his death.

The apostles are witnesses, and all but John, were martyred for their remembrance and proclamation of it.   Therefore, it will not surprise us, that the Greek word Jesus uses for his apostles is witness or martus, hence martyr in English.

The apostles were caused to remember the fulfilment of Jesus’ resolute way to Jerusalem, where he fulfilled his purpose in the great reversal at the cross.  They were caused to remember Jesus on the Mountain of Transfiguration when they saw a glimpse of the glory into which he was raised after the resurrection.  They were caused to remember his conversation with Moses and Elijah, the great law man and prophet of the old covenant, discussing his exodus after completing the way of the Law and the glorification or unhiding of his truthfulness unto death, and then his resurrection and ascension to the right hand of God our Father.

Like Jesus, we now walk in the forty-day lifetime of tribulation set out for us in this life.  But as we do Jesus walks with us, within us, and gives us his Holy Spirit so we can carry our crosses to the cross.  Just as the Holy Spirit rested upon him as he walked the way of the cross.

But we also walk in the resurrection to eternal life, having had the Holy Spirit rest on us in baptism, enabling within us the reality of the resurrection from the dead and the forgiveness of sins.  Like Jesus was not always seen after the resurrection, but caused to be seen by the Holy Spirit after he was raised by the Spirit, we too do not see the full reality of the resurrection into which we have been baptised.  But we see glimpses of it through faith as we hear the Word of God, just as Peter, James and John had a transfigured glimpse of it.

Jesus’ ascension at the end of his forty-day glorification, after his resurrection, is a reminder to us of our resurrection and glorification.   So, like the apostles, we live with this revelation unhidden by the Holy Spirit in the Word of God.   We too having received the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Jesus Christ.  The Spirit wills us to continue our perseverance in Jesus’ way, truth, and life, worshipping God and returning to our daily callings where we face testing and trials. 

The Holy Spirit rested upon Jesus as he served humanity with his submission.  Therefore, like Jesus, we know the Spirit will lead us in service of others and worship of God.  

Therefore, we also patiently wait and know the Holy Spirit will one day bring us into the eternal temple, to worship face to face before our Father and our Saviour Jesus Christ.  Amen.