He was taken up as they were watching, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going, they were gazing into heaven, and suddenly two men in white clothes stood by them. They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up into heaven? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come in the same way that you have seen him going into heaven.” [Acts 1:9-11 (CSB)]
The Resurrection story didn’t end on Easter with Jesus’ appearance to ten disciples, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and John, Salome, and Joanna, along with Cleopas and another believer who broke bread with Him in Emmaus. Appearing and disappearing at will, Jesus remained on earth for forty days. While He probably appeared other times, Scripture tells us He later appeared to Thomas and the ten others, to seven of the disciples beside the Sea of Galilee, to His half-brother James, to over 500 believers at one time, and to the disciples on his last day with them.
The resurrected Jesus had a body—a body with scars from the crucifixion; one that could walk, talk, eat, touch, and be touched. His body, however, was not like the bodies of Jairus’ daughter, the widow of Nain’s son, or Lazarus. Their resuscitated bodies returned to the earthly bodies they had before death and were subject to weakness, aging, disease, death, and decay. But, when Jesus rose from the grave, He didn’t take back His old vulnerable human body—He took on a transformed and invulnerable body. Although physical, His resurrected body was supernatural, imperishable, and immortal. Sharing the power of God, it never would meet death again.
Although the disciples kept asking Jesus if the time had come for Him to restore the kingdom to Israel, He explained that the timing was not theirs to know. After promising them the power of the Holy Spirit and commissioning them to carry His message into the world, Jesus’ physical time on earth came to an end. On the 40th day after Easter, He disappeared into a cloud and was taken to Heaven. For the disciples who’d been fixated on the restoration of Israel, Jesus’ disappearance was an unexpected event. It’s no wonder they stood gape-mouthed staring into the sky until two angels appeared and promised that He would return in the same way He departed.
Today, some people find it hard to reconcile Jesus’ ascension in Heaven with what we know about the universe and space travel. Did He travel at the speed of light and escape the confines of our universe without benefit of a space suit? Ascending into Heaven, however, does not imply traveling through space to a location far from our world. Just because Heaven is beyond the reach of rockets and telescopes doesn’t mean it is far away or doesn’t exist!
As the abode of a holy and perfect God, Heaven is real and solid and probably closer than we think. A very different kind of world, it is not a geographical or astronomical location within our material universe. Existing in another dimension or on another plane, Heaven is the place where God and the risen Christ dwell. However, even without its navigational coordinates, we can get there because Jesus told us how—He is the way!
On the 40th day after Easter, the disciples watched as Jesus transcended time and space to His rightful place seated at the right hand of God. The angels’ words to the disciples told them the story wasn’t over—Jesus’ incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension were just the beginning. The story will come to fruition when Jesus reappears and puts everything right. Until that day comes, let us do as did the disciples—go out and share the Gospel message everywhere.
Built by her husband’s grandfather in the 1920s, my friend’s house was filled with much of the original furniture. Many pieces (like the restored grand piano) were valuable antiques but decades of use had taken their toll on others. Although the beautiful little mahogany side chair looked solid, a note saying “Broken—do not use” rested on it. Pretty as it was, the chair was useless and an invitation to disaster. Should the warning go unnoticed, some unknowing person could end up sprawled on the floor surrounded by splintered wood.
Earlier this week, I wrote about my nephew Johnny’s baptism in my mother’s hospital room. Because she was at death’s door, my brother took emergency leave and he and I served as the baby’s sponsors in Baptism (or Godparents).
In 1962, my 2-month-old nephew Johnny and his parents traveled 1,500 miles for his Baptism. Because my mother was hospitalized (and soon would be dead), the sacrament took place at her bedside. This was the only time Johnny and his grandmother met and the last time my sister saw our mother alive.
We once had neighbors who left our church for what I’ll call the “church of what’s happening now.” Its members have a variety of beliefs about God and, while they acknowledge a “higher power,” they do not share a concept of it. It could be God, a sacred force, or the spirit of life and there is no right or wrong way to understand Him, Her, or It. While some may regard Jesus as a great moral and spiritual leader or prophet (and possibly even supernatural), they don’t believe He was God and reject the Trinity. Theirs is an eclectic mix of beliefs with each person having his or her own personal truth. Embracing uncertainty, some believe there may be an afterlife and/or reincarnation but, for others, this life is all there is. Although they look to the Bible for wisdom, they also find spiritual inspiration in texts like the Bhagavad Gita, Dhammapada, and Tao Te-Ching. Our neighbors were loving caring people who believed in good things like justice, compassion, peace, protecting the environment, and the dignity of the individual. Nevertheless, while some of their thinking was correct, their conclusion was very wrong.
Devotions of the Heart 