Mysteries Of Gloryنموونە

The Ascension of Jesus

The second mystery to ponder is found in Luke’s account of the Good News. The ascension of Jesus into heaven is told in a couple of lines.

When we read Luke’s words, we notice a couple of points to explore. Firstly, the response of the disciples. I have seen so many dramas of the disciples being confused, fearful, or sad at the departure of their beloved Lord, but this is not the story Luke recounts.

Here the disciples receive His blessing, stay to worship Him, and then continue to praise God in the temple. There is a lack of understanding in the disciples, as shown earlier in the chapter, but there is no lack of faith.

They worship Jesus and praise God. Surely a great model for us, especially when we don’t fully understand the outworking of God’s plan.

Second, we notice that Luke places this event at Bethany. The last time Luke mentions Bethany is in chapter 19 when Jesus sets off on his triumphant entry to Jerusalem.

The echo here is surely deliberate, with Jesus carried in triumph to the place ‘where God dwells.' We don’t have details this time though of the triumphant entry, but can only begin to imagine the cohorts of angels welcoming him in glory.

The third detail is the moment of blessing. This links us back to a moment at the beginning of Luke’s account, in chapter 1, when Zacharias goes into the temple to offer the ‘prayers of the people’ before God.

The prayers would be, in essence, a cry for deliverance and for the promised messiah to come. Jesus, of course, is the answer to these prayers. The people gather outside the temple waiting for Zacharias to offer their prayers and they wait to receive the blessing in return.

This blessing is never given because of Zacharias being struck dumb, but at the end of Luke’s Gospel, we have the glorious moment when Jesus himself gives the blessing.

Our prayers have truly been heard and God has responded. Now go and live as a blessed people secure in the knowledge of the profound love of our Father in heaven.

We again chose a simple prayer to repeat over and over to allow this mystery to enfold us.