10. Ascended

After the first resurrection appearances in Jerusalem, the disciples returned to their homes in Galilee. One night Peter went fishing with six of the other disciples. They spent the entire night in the boat but caught nothing. At dawn they saw a man on the shore who asked them, “Do you have any fish?”

“No,” they answered.

He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. That disciple whom Jesus loved [John] therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea. The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish. . . . Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” (John 21:6–8, 12)

The purpose of the first resurrection appearances was clearly to bring the disciples to faith. Peter had seen the risen Lord on three occasions. James and John had seen him twice. Thomas had seen him once and confessed, “My Lord and my God!” So, by this time, the disciples knew that Jesus had risen from the dead.

Unbelief was a thing of the past for these men. So, if these disciples already believed that Jesus had risen, what was this appearance beside the lake about?

Peter, James, and John could not have missed the significance of this miracle. When Jesus first called them to follow Him, He told Peter to let down his nets for a catch. Peter had already toiled all night and caught nothing. But he obeyed the command of Jesus, and when he did, the nets were so full that two boats were barely able to bring them in. Then Jesus said to Peter, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men” (Luke 5:10).

Jesus had called His disciples to bring people to faith in Him, and in repeating the miraculous catch of fish, the risen Lord was re- affirming their calling.

Jesus has work for us to do

Sometime later, Jesus appeared to the disciples again on a moun- tain in Galilee. Matthew tells us that, “when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted” (Matthew 28:17). Believing in Jesus does not mean that you will never have any doubts. These men had seen the risen Lord, and some of them still had questions.

But Jesus did not wait for them to have perfect faith. He had work for them to do:

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:18–20)

Notice Jesus’ three priorities: making disciples, baptizing them, and teaching them to live in accordance with His words and example. This commission is not only for the first disciples, but also for all of Jesus’ disciples in every generation. As we pursue His com- mission, Jesus gives us this promise:

“Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)

Jesus is in heaven

The last time Jesus appeared to His disciples was at the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. His last words to them were about the work He had given them to do and the power He would give them to do it.

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

Then Luke records that

when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. (Acts 1:9)

Try to picture what the disciples saw: Jesus’ feet left the ground and before their eyes, He ascended, ten feet, twenty feet, thirty feet, and then up into a cloud and beyond the range of their sight.

The ascension of Jesus was the work of God the Father, bring- ing Jesus back into heaven from where He had come. Jesus was “lifted up” (Acts 1:9). He was “taken up” (Acts 1:2); He was “carried up into heaven” (Luke 24:51). Jesus said, “I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father” ( John 16:28).

We might think that the disciples would be devastated by the departure of Jesus, but Luke tells us that they “returned to Jerusalem with great joy” (Luke 24:52).

Why would the disciples have joy when Jesus left them?

Suppose you are in prison, charged with a serious crime. Your attorney is a man of great compassion, and when he visits your cell, you draw comfort from his presence. But you need more from your attorney than his comfort in the cell. You need him to represent you in the courtroom.

We need Jesus to represent us in heaven and, seated at the right hand of God the Father, Jesus is exactly where we need Him to be.

John says,

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. (1 John 2:1)

When Jesus ascended, the disciples were filled with joy because they knew that in heaven, He would speak to the Father on their behalf. The book of Hebrews tells us that

[Jesus] is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. (Hebrews 7:25)

Jesus intercedes for us, and what Jesus asks, the Father gives. Because He is in heaven, you will have all that you need for all that you face in every circumstance of your life.

Jesus will return

When Jesus ascended, an angel appeared to the disciples and said,

“Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:11)

Jesus is in heaven now, but He has promised that He will re- turn: “I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also” ( John 14:3). When Jesus entered heaven, He opened heaven for us, and when He returns, He will take us home.