Jesus Exalted
Notes
Transcript
Jesus Exalted
Jesus Exalted
Please open your bibles to the
Book of Acts Chapter 1:9-11
We are moving out of Lukes Gospel
but keeping in line with Luke as the author
as we move to his second book of the bible
the book rightly titled
Acts of the Apostels
We we will use this text this morning to complete
our Road to the Cross
This week, the week after Easter Sunday
We will conclude this great journey
with Jesus through his Holy Week
From the
Triumphant Entry where He brought us Peace
To the Garden where he showed us Prayer
To the Cross where he showed us his sacrifice
and then to the Tomb, where he has Risen
and finally this week
We will see Him Ascend to the
Right hand of the Father
A King, rightly placed on His throne
Unfortunately, the text that we are going
to cover this morning is often overlooked
often, overshadowed
by the events we celebrated and covered the last
couple of weeks
but…
But…
The Ascension of Christ
should not be overlooked
it should not be overshadowed
Instead, it ranks right up there
with the Crucifixion and the Resurrection
See, with Jesus’ Crucifixion we saw him
as the Lamb led to slaughter
for the atonement of our sins
For the Resurrection we saw Jesus
Rise from the grave as that tomb was empty
in order to grant us victory over death
Then to cap it all off
to round off the trifecta we could say
** After spending 40 days with his followers and appearing to
over 500**
Jesus ascended back to the Father
where he became the Kind of Kings
the Lord of Lords
As we now see Him Exalted
at the right had of the father
So please stand with me as we
Read the word of God
After he had said this, 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.”
Let’s Pray
Illustration
Illustration
The King Bearing Us in His Arms
The King Bearing Us in His Arms
There is a vivid picture of Christ’s sacrifice for sin in Mark Twain’s novel, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court.
The story tells the adventures of an ordinary man (the Connecticut Yankee) from the 19th century, who is transported back to the medieval world of King Arthur. At one point he convinces King Arthur to dress like a peasant and take a journey through his kingdom. The results are generally laughable as the king, completely oblivious to life in the trenches, tries to carry on with all the pomp of the court while those around him simply think he is crazy. But there is a touching chapter titled “The Smallpox Hut” describing how the king and his companion happen upon a beggar’s hovel. The husband lies dead, and the wife tries to warn them away:
“For the fear of God, who visits with misery and death such as be harmless, tarry not here, but fly! This place is under his curse.
”
The king replies, “Let me come in and help youyou are sick and in trouble.”
The woman asks the king to go into the loft and check on their child.
“It was a desperate place for him to be in, and might cost him his life,” observes the Yankee, “but it was no use to argue with him.”
The king disappears up a ladder looking for the girl.
There was a slight noise from the direction of the dim corner where the ladder was. It was the king descending. I could see that he was bearing something in one arm, and assisting himself with the other. He came forward into the light; upon his breast lay a slender girl of 15. She was but half conscious; she was dying of smallpox. Here was heroism at its last and loftiest possibility, its utmost summit; this was challenging death in the open field unarmed, with all the odds against the challenger, no reward set upon the contest, and no admiring world in silks and cloth-of-gold to gaze and applaud; and yet the king’s bearing was as serenely brave as it had always been in those cheaper contests where knight meets knight in equal fight and clothed in protecting steel. He was great now; sublimely great. The rude statues of his ancestors in his palace should have an additionI would see to that; and it would not be a mailed king killing a giant or a dragon, like the rest. It would be a king in commoner’s garb bearing death in his arms.
Points
The Ascension (V9)
The Message (V 10-11)
Now What?
The Ascension
The Ascension
Verse Acts 1:9 “After he had said this,
After he said what?
After he said a lot of things actually
see Jesus spent 40 days with them after his Resurrection
during these 40 days Jesus taught them
and discipled them even more
he convinced them of his bodily resurrection
that he was not some spirit
not some ghost
but that he was real, alive, and in a body
He would have further taught them
through the OT scriptures
that he was indeed the messiah
and that his time on earth was done
that his purpose here on earth was complete
now that he had atoned for our sins
and conquered death
with that he taught them of
their new responsibility
and that responsibility was that of the church
see with this very action Jesus was
passing the reigns or the torch
if you will to the apostles
whom would then go on and
establish His church
and proclaim the name of Jesus
he would have
given them the tools they would need to lead the early church
and because they were hand selected
or chosen by Christ
it gave them the authority to preach
teach, direct and preserve
the works of Jesus
we should see this as a hinge
or as a launching pad
if you will
See with the ascension of Jesus
comes the birth of the early church
and these disciples
these 11 rag tag men were going to be
the ones that would bring the church to the world
with the help of the 3rd member of the trinity
the Holy Spirit
And that same Holy Spirit
that was with them then
is still the same Holy Spirit
that is convicting us’
guiding us
and is with us now
isn’t that refreshing
However, at the forefront of all the things
he taught them and showed
them in preparation of the early church
the key to it was to further the
kingdom of God
That is why they asked Him
back in verse 6 if
he was going to restore it
now
which is why he responded with
now is not the time for you to know
pretty much, that’s none of your business
but what is your business is what you do in the meantime
he told them exactly
how and what they were to do
and what they were going to do is
spread the Gospel
to the ends of the earth
with the power of the Holy Spirit
You know, one thing we like to say is that the last words spoken by Christ are what we heard on the cross
things like
Father forgive them,
today you will be with me in paradise
things like that
but actually,
the last words said by Christ
while here on earth for his
earthly ministry
were are found in v8
just before our text this morning
and it says
Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.””
See Jesus lasts words weren’t about
what had happened and what he did
as in past tense
it was a call to action
for those that follow Him
Now.. after he said all of that…
Acts 1:9 “the verse continues with..”he was taken up as they were watching, and a cloud took him out of their sight.”
So after leaving them with these orders
or instructions
we see that Jesus was taken up
on what..
a cloud
see in the OT it was a cloud
that led the Israelites through
the wilderness
it was in a cloud that God made his
presence known
it was in a cloud that the
3 disciples witnessed the transfiguration
of Christ into his glory
see whenever God appeared
in His glory
we see it as a cloud
and it was in this cloud
that the son of man
the son of God
returned to His glory
And the fact that the disciples
now apostles were watching this
is of equal importance as well
see they saw their Lord and savior
their and our messiah
ascend back to the father
just as he said he would
they would have remembered him saying
things like
John 1:51 “Then he said, “Truly I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.””
John 3:13 “No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven—the Son of Man.”
John 6:62 “Then what if you were to observe the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?”
John 14:12 ““Truly I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do. And he will do even greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.”
John 14:28 “You have heard me tell you, ‘I am going away and I am coming to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I.”
John 16:10 “about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see me;”
John 16:28 “I came from the Father and have come into the world. Again, I am leaving the world and going to the Father.””
John 20:17 ““Don’t cling to me,” Jesus told her, “since I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them that I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.””
Remember last week how Jesus
predicted his death and resurrection
and because of that we can rely on all of his words
well here is another example
see Jesus rightly predicted that
he would go back to the father once his work here was done
and it is happening just as he said
thus, restoring their faith to next level
The disciples needed to see this
they needed to make this transition
they needed to witness him returning to his heavenly kingdom
so that they could tell us about it and so that we could tell others
See the fact that we can trust the things Jesus
told about are true
because he predicted major events such as these
and he told us of heaven
and that is exactly where he went
and that places so much
hope into our lives doesn't it
knowing that there is an actual heaven
that there is a place with no hurting
no sin
no death
that there is a place where we will forever
be in His presence
surrounded by His glory
witnessing His power
forever and ever
Brothers and sisters
if that doesn’t give you
hope in the future I dont know what will
tough times will come and go
but the kingdom of heaven is a real place
that we all will end up in
should we only turn from our own sinful
ways,
repent,
and turn to God
which brings us to our second point of the morning
The Message
The Message
Acts 1:10 “While he was going, they were gazing into heaven,
mouths probably wide open
awestruck
with no words
no ability to speak
just standing there
in amazement
as Jesus is lifted into heaven
not too fast
not too slow
just at the right speed
i am curious if he waved
but I guess he probably would have
This would have reminded the disciples of
Enoch, Elijah
and of Moses
maybe even of John Wayne riding off
into the sunset
either way, as these men were standing there
our text continues with
just gazing in to the sky
“suddenly two men in white clothes stood by them.”
I bet that scared the dickens out of them
These two men that showed up
they must have looked a lot like the 2 angels that spoke to the women last week
in fact we can conclude they were indeed angels
only
instead of being described as wearing dazzling cloths
they are described as wearing all white
much like the transfiguration
much like that picture of glory
We can almost think of them as escorting Jesus into heaven much
like a king would have an escort to His throne
these 2 angels also provide witness that Christ is in fact God
and as these men are there
again, much like they did for the women at the empty grave
they get right to the point
and say
Acts 1:11 “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.””
MEN of Galilee..
Brothers and sisters
there is no doubt that Jesus is coming back
and here the angles reaffirm what they were already told
by Christ himself
and when he comes back
it will be on a cloud
with power and Glory
and it will be bodily
and it will be visible
This world as we know it
is moving closer and closer to that time
it may not be tomorrow
it may not even be in 100 or 1000 years
but it will happen
because Jesus said so
and when Jesus returns he will judge
and he will rule over the entire earth
so what are we to do
what is the message the angels gave to
the apostles and to us?
well, it isn't to just stand around
gawking at the sky
it’s to get out
get to work
spread the news of hope
of grace
of judgement
because when Jesus comes back it will be too late
So after 40 days
Jesus returned to heaven
and what are we to do?
are we to stand around
no, because I can assure
you, while we are working down here
Jesus is working up there
which brings us to our final point
Now What?
Now What?
The culmination of the cross
the reassurance of the resurrection
and accuracy of the ascension point to one thing
That Jesus is King
What is so important about the ascension is the fact that
it exalted Jesus back to his rightful place of Glory
back to the right hand of the father
back to his rightful throne
That is why back in John 17:5 “Now, Father, glorify me in your presence with that glory I had with you before the world existed.”
and now that he is there
now that he is back where he belongs
so to speak
what is he doing now?
He is having a conversation with God the Father about you!
He is having a conversation with God the Father about you!
Romans 8:34 “Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is the one who died, but even more, has been raised; he also is at the right hand of God and intercedes for us.”
I have mentioned several times that Jesus
is now sitting at the right hand of father
what does this mean
well, in the jewish understanding, and remember our context of the bible is written mostly with Jewish context
see to sit at the right hand
means that you are in the position of power and authority
over all
See after he “made purification for our sins, he sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high (Heb 1:3)
This sitting down
this placement back to the seat of power and authority
was a welcoming by the father
that he had completed his work of redemption
on earth
think about it
what do we do after we have done something pretty awesome
we sit down in our chair
signifying that the work is over
So now that the work is over
and he has sat down at the right hand of the
father
reclaimed his power and authority
what is he doing with that power and authority
as Romans earlier mentions
he is interceding for us
he is talking to the father about us
he is pleading with the father for us
he is standing up for us
pleading our case
he is ensuring that when we fall
he is there standing
he is ensuring that when we fail
he is there pleading
and when we succeed
he is there telling the father all about it
see our security is found in the fact that Jesus
Christ lives today and is working on our behalf
next to the father
we are connected to God through the son Jesus
Romans 8:35–39 “Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Can affliction or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: Because of you we are being put to death all day long; we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Because he rose from the dead and is now interceding for us
we have confidence that those of who believe will never be separated from him and his love
What else is he doing?
He is showing himself to the world, through us!
He is showing himself to the world, through us!
Colossians 1:18 “He is also the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything.”
he is the head of the church
and who is the church
1 Corinthians 12:27 “Now you are the body of Christ, and individual members of it.”
so we, as bodies of believers are the body that represents Christ on earth
and we are to show the world all that Christ has to offer
grace, mercy, love, deliverance, judgment
and because he is the head of the body
we think how he wants us to think
we go where he wants us to go
and we do what he wants us to do
because we are His witnesses
we are to show the world what he has done for us
so go out, show the world all that Jesus has done for you
live each day as if Jesus is standing right next to you
because as his body and with him as our head
we should treat every moment as if he is!
we are to do for others what Christ did for others
while he was still here
Now that Jesus is gone he is preparing a permanent place for us
Now that Jesus is gone he is preparing a permanent place for us
John 14:1–3 ““Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am you may be also.”
I like to build things
in fact I do some remodeling as well
it takes time to build houses
now I assume if God can create the universe
in 6 days, he could have probably already built a pretty
awesome mansion
however, I am not sure what type of construction is happening up there
and I have no idea what the structure will look like
when its done
in fact we really only have a glimpse
of what heaven will be like
But I do know that Jesus said he is preparing a place for me
and that place
no matter how awesome it is
no matter how trendy it will be
no matter how state of the art
or how traditional it will be
doesnt really matter
what matters is knowing that
this place will be next to the Father
this place will be next to Jesus
and this place will be there forever
and I know that I am going there
and you are welcome there as well
as long as we all understand
that he only way that we can get there
and live there
is through the one who came to get us
as
John 14:6 “Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
The keys to that mansion in heaven
are held by Jesus Christ
and the only way we get into it
are through him
and once he is done building this place
after all he is a carpenter
He is preparing to come back and get us
He is preparing to come back and get us
in the passage we just read
Jesus said that he is coming back to get us
he is coming back to get all of us that believe in
him for salvation
and while we don’t know the hour or the time
for 1 day is like a thousand years and
1,000 years is like one day to the Father
we know that he is coming soon
Revelation 22:20 “He who testifies about these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!”
and on that glorious day when we see Jesus coming in power and glory
from heaven
we will rest assured that eternity is at our finger tips
everlasting life is within our grasp
sin, shame, all the junk that comes along
with this life will be over
and we will rest in his presence
and I assure you
we are a lot closer to that time than we were yesterday
and tomorrow we will be even closer than we were today
and let us continue to have that hope
that when that day gets here
we will meet Jesus face to face
and I pray that it will be on a positive light
because to some of us here will say
Well done, Good and faithful servant
but to others he will say
Matthew 7:23 “I never knew you. Depart from me, you lawbreakers!’”
So I pray that each and every one us know Jesus
knows him as their lord and savior
knows that he is in heaven right now
working for us, interceding for us
guiding us
and preparing a place for us
because he will come back for us
Let us pray
There is a story of a man
a time traveler if we will
and this is loosely based off of a book by Mark Twain,
but there’s a story of a man that was able to travel back in time.
He was able to travel back in time to the time of kings When kings were probably at their highest account
and many centuries ago,
but this man that travel back in time he went back to a similar situation of that of
King Arthur you know King Arthur
the sword and the stone I should say
King Arthur and the knights of the round table
Anyways, this man who traveled back in time
he went to this king and he became friends with the king
so he asked the king
hey if you really want to get a grips if you really want to find out what the people are about
if you want to find out what your servants are doing
why don’t you take off this crown
why don’t you takeoff these fancy slippers
and slip on a Tunic
why don’t you slip on some sandals
and let’s go walk around with your people
let’s go see what they have to say
and see what they are going through
so this king who is a very highly king
a very good king
he thought this was a pretty good idea so
he took off his robe
he stepped off his throne
he took off his his crown
and his fancy slippers
then he put on a basic humble tunic
he put on sandals that were worn,
he replaced his scepter with the simple shepherds staff
and he went out.
He began walking with the people
he began talking with the people,
and visiting with the people,
and the people actually got the biggest kick out of this.
They didn’t recognize him as the king.
They only recognized him as somebody who was different
somebody who was didn’t seem like he was from around here,
they ended up mocking him
They would make fun of them him
hey would call him all sorts of things,
but still
that they were still drawn to him because they really didn’t understand how this person was able to get to be this age
yet not know how to do these things,
but nonetheless this king,
he fell in love with his people,
he fell in love with every day things of his people
And he continued to walk with them.
He continued to love them,
then one day as he’s walking down the street,
he comes across this area this hut if you will
and as this man was going to venture in this area.
This woman was standing at the door.
as she saw him about to enter
she told him do not come in
do not come in into this place for this is a place that has been cursed.
This is a place of death
now this king who been walking with his people
who have been living with his people
and understanding what people were going through
said no, I am called to come and be with you,
I am to be with your sick
then this man he stepped around this woman and said woman.
How can I help you?
How can I get you through these times and the woman said
I am overwhelmed,
but if you could please go up there and check on my daughter
if you could go down to that basement there and check on my daughter for she is sick,
but I tell you nobody important comes around this area.
Nobody of any highness comes around this area,
for it is an area of sickness
knowing that no one would see him entering this,
knowing that he would not receive any metals,
knowing that he would not receive any accolades for this,
but also knowing that he loved his people
he walked into that tent
and he walked down to there,
to that place where this ladies sick daughter was
This man who traveled back in time with him,
was standing there.
He saw the man enter into that tent,
he heard him go down in this area where this child was,
then during this time
this couple of minutes he suddenly sees the man
coming back and as he’s coming back,
and he’s holding a small child in his arms
a small child we can see is is dying of smallpox
And he takes his child that is in his arms
with this highly communicable disease
and he takes her to the kings palace,
and he cares for her and treats her
now this King didn’t have to do any of those things
see this king
became king because of his bloodline
he became king because he was born at the right time
he was king, because of who he was,
but yet this king became their Lord whenever he took off his kingship and put on servant hood
and walked with them and talked with them and
slept with them and
hurt with them,
and once the people learned of what their King had done
Then he was loved even more by the people.
The people were so inspired
by the things that King did
when he walked among them
they began to do many things at his name
as they were led by his example
see brothers and sisters we have a king exactly like this
we have a king that came down that took off his glory that came down,
a king that walked with us
was tempted with us,
went through trials with us
And this king
once his time was finished here on earth,
he went back to his throne,
and he was no longer considered just a king.
When he went back to his throne,
he was rightly restored as Lord of all
he was rightly restored to the glory he once possessed
before all things were created
and that is exactly what Jesus did when he went
to the father,
he went up there in glory,
and he knew that his time on earth was over
his project here on earth was done.
redemption was made because of him
And it was completed when he sat back down on his throne,
brothers and sisters we walked through the Ascension of Christ today
we will see just how he is restored to his kingship and his Lordship
and let us not forget,
he once walked and talked with us
he once did all the things that we did
and he died a sinful death so that we would not have to
so that brings us to our three points this morning.
The first one is the Ascension of Christ
the second one is the message of the angels
and finally kind of unorthodox.
We will ask the question and answer it now what what is Jesus doing now that he is sitting at the right hand of it and what does that mean for us so let’s get started