Article
The Ascension of Christ part 2
April 30, 2019
Luke is the author of the third gospel and Acts of the Apostles, a companion of the apostle Paul, and the most literary of the New Testament writers. Information about him and his life are scanty. His writing style indicates a cultivated literary background, tradition-based. The Gospel references have regarded him as a physician and a Gentile. As a coworker of Paul, he probably accompanied him on several missionary journeys. What I like about the writing of Luke in the Gospel of Luke and also in the book of Acts is that he begins with Christ -- His arrival, and ends with Christ -- His departure. Luke 24:50-52 says this: “And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy.”
The story of Jesus begins in Heaven when He left and came to earth. It ends when He leaves earth to returns to Heaven. The story starts with condescension and ends with Ascension. It transitions from the incarnation to end with Christ's exaltation. Beginning with expectation, the story finishes with consummation. It begins with the Son of God being born of a virgin and descending to the earth, and it ends with the Son of God being raised from the dead and Ascending to Heaven. The story began with hope unrealized and ends with hope being fully realized. It started with a promise and ends with fulfillment and a new promise. The story started with praise and worship, and it ends the same way. It began with Mary, Zachariah, Simeon, and Anna, all praising God in anticipation of the coming Messiah. It started with praise of angels, and it ends with their worship and praise. The story even began in the temple while the baby Jesus was taken to the temple, where he was offered for dedication in the Jewish custom. He was taken up in the arms of Simeon who offered praise to God, and then there was Anna who was always in the temple praising God, and so it began with praise and ends with praise. It started in the temple, and it ends with the temple. I have a deep appreciation for the Gospel writer Matthew.
I see how Luke begins with the coming Christ and ends with Jesus Ascending back to the Father, but look at how Matthew, begins his Gospel. The Bible says in Matthew 1:23: “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.”
God is with us. That’s how Matthew began, but you know how Matthew ends His Gospel? In Matthew 28:20: “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” However, only Luke is given the sole privilege of recording the culminating event, the Ascension. And Luke tells us about the Ascension twice. It is how he ends his Gospel, and it is how he begins his next volume of history called the book of Acts. Luke tells the story of Christ on earth, the story of the coming of the Holy Ghost, and the fulfillment of the Great Commission in the establishment of the church. So Luke, again in his two overlappings, interlocking histories, ends with the Ascension and begins with the Ascension, which they should affirm to us its importance. It is the culminating end of one history, and it is the inaugural beginning of another history. Praise God.
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