What is Jesus doing now? I want to answer that question for you. I hope it will be enlightening, as it was for me many moons ago. I still remember sitting in my first year of seminary in a class on theology in which the professor was pontificating beautifully on the glorious ascension of Jesus, and being completely undone by it, because I recognized right then and there that I was completely ignorant of the details of the ascension, the significance,
the theological significance. I had grown up as a Presbyterian boy, going to church every Sunday, going to church camp and learning things, and I could not explain the ascension to anyone. And I felt so well humbled and at the same time so excited, so enthused, in lumened encouraged by learning the truth about Jesus' ascension.
I thought, how could I have reached this point.
I was in my mid twenties, I guess early twenties, then early twenties, and I had never really understood the theological significance of the ascension, I thought, really looking back, the ascension took place forty days after the resurrection. The resurrection took place on Kitriyaki, the day of the Lord. Sunday ascension falls on a Thursday. Presbyterians don't go to church on Thursday, because, like most Protestants, we had scrapped the ecclesiastical or liturgical calendar.
We went to church every Sunday.
But if something significant, like the ascension of Christ to Heaven, something of immense significance sealvific significance, well it fell on a Thursday, forty days after the resurrection, and since we didn't keep the calendar, we didn't go to church on those days. This is a consequence of my Protestant experience.
The ascension is the window to which to understand what Jesus is doing now, not what he has done to save us, not his incredible incarnation, his humble, canotic descent to become a human being without ceasing to be God's son,
to become the theanthropos. We know the great love that drove him and the great humility that drove him to become a man in order to rectify human nature, to cure us from our diseased and sinful condition, taking humanity upon himself, establishing it by his righteous life and its correct orientation. In natures, then as the god Man, defeating Satan, crushing sin, overcoming death, his precious Cross. All of those things he's done in the past. But what is he
doing now? What is Christ doing now? And where did he go when he ascended? I want to tell you an answer to that question and four simple points. The first is that the ascension is the glorification of our Lord Christ. Just before he went to the cross and his magnificent high priestly prayer recorded in the seventeenth chapter of Saint John's Gospel, Jesus said, this, Father, the hour has come. Glorify thy son, that the son may glorify THEE.
I glorify THEE on the earth, having accomplished the work which thou hast given me to do.
Now, Father, glorify.
Me together with thyself, with the glory which I had with THEE before the world was. The ascension is the glorification of the Lord Jesus Christ the humiliation came to an end, having humbled himself to the very lowest point and loved us to the end, giving his very life
for us on the precious Cross. His father raised him from the dead, and then after forty days Jesus ascended from the mouth of Olives and was glorified before the eyes of his disciples, taking humanity where humanity has never gone, blowing through the atmospheric heavens that had been previously dominated by Satan and the demons that Saint Paul call the Prince of the power of the air. Now humanity is
taken right through that domain and planted in heaven. Now the dust of the earth, which is what we are, the dust of the Earth, is enthroned on the King in the Kingdom of Heaven number two. It is his coronation as the King of kings. It is the fulfillment of the prophecy of the exaltation of the King of the Great Christ, the Messiah at the right hand of the Father. As such, it is the greatest, most significant
political action that has ever taken place. All other enthronements of earthly kings, who are sinners, as glorious as they may be throughout human hand, are nothing compared to the glorification and enthronement of the Lord Christ, who is the King of all living kings and the Lord of all living lords, the one who holds all providential power and government in the world, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to him, and the success, the
rise and fall of nations depends upon their orientation to him. This is what the Psalms tell us, right. Just think of Psalm too. Do homage to the Sun, yet, kings, lest he become angry with you and you perish in the way. Blessed are all who take refuge in him. The Lord laughs at those who oppose him. That Psalm says, those who rise up against him are no threat to
his rule, not at all. Or think of that incredible text Psalm one nine or one to ten if you're reading it in a typical Western Bible, not number into the ALEXX to the septuagen.
Psalm one O nine.
Sit thou at my right hand until I make thine enemies a footstool for thy feet. This is the most quoted Old Testament text in the New Testament. Four times. It's quoted in the New Testament, applied to Christ, the Father speaking to the son, Sit thou at my right hand on the throne prepared for you, until I make thine enemies a footstool for thy feet. That's a lens
through which to understand all of human history. It is the process of Jesus extending his loving reign, conquering the enemies of the human race, until every last enemy, every demon, every sin, is made a footstool for his feet. And then comes the end, and God is all and in all number three. The ascension is the prelude to Pentecost. It is the necessary movement and step. Now that Christ is glorified, now that he is enthroned in heaven as
the Lord of lords and the King of kings. He said as a coronation gift, as a great love gift, the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, ten days later, without the glorification of Christ, no outpouring of the Holy Spirit. This is exactly what Jesus promised, that he would ascend to his Father, and he would send the other comforter.
Christ, of course is our comforter.
But he prophesied that he would pour out upon the disciples him who would be the other comforter, the peraclet, who would bring great, empowering, consolation, joy, beautiful fruits to his church. That's the significance also of the ascension. It was the prelude to the outpouring, the democratization of the Holy Spirit in the church. It's the Holy Spirit being poured out as the means by which Jesus's presence is
realized in each believer and in the corporate Church. And then, lastly, but not least, the ascension is the movement of Christ up into the Holy of Holies in the great Heavenly Temple that was revealed by God to Moses when Moses was on the top of the Mount Sinai, and where Christ now has gone as our forerunner, as our great High Priest, to stand before God, as the eternally slain but standing living Lamb of God, who sacrifice has made atonement for the sins of the whole world, who stands
before his Father constantly pleading and interceding for the good of his Church, as our great High Priest, the one whose priesthood is shared with those ordained to the sacred priesthood on the earth, who speak not for themselves, who minister not for themselves, but function as Saint Paul says, as the stewards of the mysteries of God, representing Christ. This is why we priests are our clothes we are
we hide ourselves. We all dress the same way. We have beards and chassocks and hold the True High Priest on our chests, because we stand as his representatives, his stewards, in his house, the Church. He is the Great High Priest, constantly making intercession for us Hebrew seven twenty five.
He is able to save to the uttermost.
Here that emphasis on the present outworking of our salvation, not just a past event. He is able to save to the uttermost those who come to Him to God through him, since he always lives to make constant intercession for us. Dear ones, praise the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Glory and honor, dominion and power be to him forever and ever, because he hasn't just conquered all of our enemies in the past, but he ever lives and is presently serving us, presently being glorified, presently ruling,
King of kings and Lord of lords. He's the one who poured out the Holy Spirit and through whom through the Holy Spirit, is governing the Church now. And he is the one who is interceding constantly in the Great Heavenly Temple as our Great High Priest, saving us, guiding the church, bringing to pass his wonders until the whole world is full of the glory of God. As the
waters cover the sea. May it come to pass. May we all be wise to do what the Psalmist says, all of us believers, all those who are outside the church, all rulers and governors. May we kiss the sun. May we bowed down before his footstool, voluntarily, voluntarily or involuntarily. All will do so, and He will be all in all, God be with you. Hey everyone, I hope you've downloaded
the Patristic Nectar app on your phone. It is a treasure trove of soul nourishing content, and I hope you'll consider becoming a regular donor to Patristic Nectar today.