Thursday, May 17, 2018
Luke 24:50-51 When He had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven.
WITH HIS ASCENSION JESUS SAYS: I AM THE TRUTH
A Man leads a group of followers to a hillside on a sunny spring day. In the last five weeks they've heard this Man speak. They've touched His hands with awe. He has eaten right in front of them. This is no apparition. No hallucination. This is the same Jesus of Nazareth whom Rome crucified. He is no less human than Peter or John, you or I. But there on the hillside, as He speaks to His disciples, Jesus raises His arms in blessing-- and then, His body "lifts off." His feet are no longer on the ground. He is rising into the air ... 3 feet ... 6 feet ... 12 feet. "Is this really happening?" Some must have wondered-- and looked away-- and then back again. Only to find nothing had changed except He was farther away.
Jesus ascended, not just into the sky, but into heaven. This is impossible, of course. Any number of laws of nature were being broken: the law of gravity, laws of space and time. Yet this is what He said would happen. "I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father." (John 16: 38).
He said He would die, and He did. He said He would return to life on the third day, and He did. He said He would return to the Father, and He has.
None of these things were done in secret for a very good reason. Jesus wanted you to know for sure that He can do whatever He says He will. His words are ultimate truth.
Never forget the promise Jesus made just before He ascended: "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing ... and teaching everything I have commanded you. And surely I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS, to the very end of the world."
Personally, as God and man, Jesus promises to be with each of His disciples the world over. Now, this is just as impossible as ascending into heaven. But the One who promised us these things not only speaks the truth, He says "I AM the Truth."
Only One can say that, the eternal One, Who has never failed to keep a single promise He has made. Jesus' Ascension Shows He Can Do Whatever He Says He Will.
