“on the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right
hand of God the Father”
The simplicity of these two lines from the creed
that we recite here every Sunday, seems to play down the huge significance of
the events that happened nearly two thousand years ago. The two statements bookend
many other events taking place over the course of 40 days and so to only
include those two key events does a great disservice to that hugely busy and
exciting time.
So much can happen in 40 days…..
If we look back at what has happened here in this
church alone, we’ve had a soup lunch, a concert, hosted a vocations weekend,
held 2 film evenings and collectively worshiped at more services then I can
count. And that only scratches the surface of what we’ve done since Easter
morning.
If we look at what happened in ancient Israel 2000
years ago with the disciples and the various resurrection experiences it is
equally as busy. Jesus made two appearances on Easter morning, he ate supper in
the looked room, accompanied a pair on the road to Emmaus and gave fishing
advice to those struggling on a boat amongst many other acts that are
apparently too many to number.
So why then did the authors of the creed choose to
only include his death and resurrection and leave out the bits in between? Why
not include the line “he appeared to his disciples” or “he cooked fish on the
beach”? Is it simply because they lack the poetry or grandeur of the rest of
text or that they don’t quite fit in with the writing style?
Or is it because the ascension in to Heaven over
shadows all other post resurrection appearances?
Christ’s final act on this world is the summing up
of his earthly duty. He has taught in the synagogues, challenged the religious
and political status quo, suffered under Pontius Pilate, been crucified, died
and buried and then on the third day has risen again.
Then with his various appearances during the 40
days, he has proven his resurrection is not just a trick, or ghostly
apparition.
However it is his ascension alone that proves that
his is the ultimate victory. By ascending to Heaven he shows beyond any doubt
that he has defeated death, conquered sin and is fully resurrected.
He entered the world in silence and secrecy; he
leaves it in fitting pomp and ceremony – ascending through the clouds to take
up his rightful place at the right hand of the father in glory. He has been
transformed from the wandering rabbi from Nazareth to the eternal Prince of
Peace, king of the universe.
If he had not
defeated death, if he was still merely mortal, he would have had to suffer
another death in order to leave this world. On the other hand if his mission
was not complete he would have had to continue working in the world, constantly
appearing and teaching people. No, by ascending he proved that it was finished.
His victory secured and his work done.
But what then?
What happens now that
Jesus has finished his Fathers work, death is defeated and sins are forgiven?
What about the
disciples?
For the second time in just over a month their
leader, teacher, friend is willingly leaving them. This time however he leaves
them in glory. Their reaction to this parting is reversed, rather then despair
there is joy, instead of weeping they rejoice. For they know now why he must
go. They know the ending of the story, Jesus has told them “the Messiah had to
suffer and rise from the dead” he has “opened their minds” to the scriptures,
all is revealed. And unlike last time he is leaving them with clear instructions.
The great commission as it has come to be known; that
“repentance and
forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations”.
Rather then leaving
them scattered he gives them a simple instruction, go into the world and tell
them about me.
This new commandment
is greater then anything he has given them before. His earlier teaching was
localised to themselves, their own lives or Judaism alone. Now however he has
ordered them out to proclaim the good news to the whole world not just to the
Jews. It is because of this that we have Paul’s great statement “there is
neither Jew nor Greek, male nor female, slave nor free” Jesus commanded his
disciples to start at Jerusalem and work out, to the ends of the earth to ALL
Nations and this has happened right up to the present day.
The task of spreading
the news to all nations could not possibly be achieved by the few that were
present when Jesus was speaking and so it is a task that must be taken up by
all believers.
As Jesus’ disciples
we too fall under of the great commission. We too are called to go out and
proclaim repentance and forgiveness of sins in Christ’s name.
Spreading the Gospel
message is a task that we can all under take, no matter who we are or what
nation we come from. The disciple’s lives and teaching as recorded in the next
great story, found in the book of acts, is our hand guide.
It is something every
Christian can and often is, already doing. To spread the Good news is not to
stand on the street corner with a megaphone in one hand and a Bible in the
other it is much more then that. It is to live. To live as witnesses to Christ
and to follow his teachings to the best of our abilities.
Jesus has
commissioned us to live our whole lives as witnesses to his resurrection and
all that brings with it just as the disciples did thousands of years ago. We
can proclaim forgiveness and repentance of sins simply by the way we live and
act in our community. That is the truly great Christian story that we are part
of.
And so though the
ascension in to Heaven is the end of Jesus’ story it is also the beginning of
our story as his disciples.
No comments:
Post a Comment