The Ascension and Reign of Christ
In one sentence: Jesus is not absent. He is enthroned, interceding, ruling, and reigning until all His enemies are placed under His feet.
In the last article, we saw that Jesus rose from the dead and that His resurrection is the beginning of new creation. The tomb is empty. Death has been defeated. Jesus is alive. But what happened next?
After His resurrection, Jesus appeared to His disciples, taught them, strengthened them, and sent them out as His witnesses. Then He ascended to the Father. The ascension means Jesus was taken up into heaven and seated at the right hand of God. This means His saving work was complete and His royal reign was publicly displayed.
Jesus is not absent. Jesus is enthroned. That is important because we may be tempted to think of Jesus as gone. We believe He came in the past, and we believe He will return in the future, but we can forget that He is reigning right now. The ascension reminds us that Jesus is not waiting around to become King someday. He is King now.
The Bible uses the language of Jesus being seated at the right hand of God in places like Mark 16:19, Acts 5:31, and Colossians 3:1. To sit at the right hand of a king is to have honor, authority, and power. Jesus, the crucified and risen Savior, has been exalted above every other name.
This is why the first Christians could speak with such courage. Rome looked powerful. Religious leaders opposed them. Persecution was real. But they knew something the world could not see: Jesus reigns. His kingdom is already here, though we do not yet see it in full. People still sin. Nations still rage. Death still hurts. Evil still causes real damage. But none of these things mean Jesus has lost control. He is reigning until every enemy is placed under His feet.
While enthroned on high, Jesus also intercedes for His people. That means He represents us before the Father. Christians do not stand before God on the strength of our own goodness, our own prayers, or our own performance. We have a living Savior who speaks for us. When we sin, Jesus does not stop being our Savior. When we are weak, Jesus does not forget us. When our prayers feel small, confused, or tired, Jesus is still our faithful High Priest. He is able to save His people completely because He always lives to intercede for them.
After Jesus ascended, He poured out the Holy Spirit on His people. The Spirit empowers believers to trust Christ, proclaim the gospel, put sin to death, love one another, and bear fruit that honors God. We’re going to talk much more about the Holy Spirit in our next few articles.
But this gift of the risen and ascended Christ means the church is not carrying out its mission alone. Jesus has not handed us a task and then stepped away. He rules over His church, strengthens His people, and sends them into the world with His authority.
And, the same Jesus who ascended will return. He will not return as a suffering servant to be rejected and crucified again. He will return as Judge and King. He will bring His kingdom in fullness, raise the dead, judge evil, and make all things new. Until then, Christians live between His ascension and His return. We wait, but we do not wait passively. We worship, pray, obey, serve, preach, love, and endure because our King is already on the throne.
Why does this matter?
This matters because life often feels chaotic. The world can seem out of control. Evil can appear strong, the church can feel weak, our prayers can feel small, and our obedience can feel costly. But the ascension reminds us that Jesus is on the throne. The church does not belong to pastors, leaders, committees, traditions, or personalities. The church belongs to Jesus. He is the Head of the church. We serve under His rule, obey His word, depend on His power, and seek His glory.
The ascension also gives us hope for the future. He is the crucified Savior, the risen Lord, the ascended King, the faithful Intercessor, and the coming Judge. He rules now, and He will reign forever. We do not serve a dead teacher, a distant memory, or an absent Lord. We serve the living King. He is ruling over all things, interceding for His people, strengthening His church, and bringing history toward the day when every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
This gives courage to obey, comfort in weakness, hope in suffering, and confidence in mission. The King who sends us is the King who reigns over us, prays for us, and will come again for us.
For Further Thought
These questions are not meant to create arguments, but to encourage careful, charitable, Bible-shaped conversation. I’d love to hear your thoughts/answers to any/all of these questions in the comments.
- Why is it important to remember that Jesus is reigning now?
- What does the ascension teach us about Jesus’ authority?
- How does it comfort you to know that Jesus intercedes for His people?
- Why does it matter that the church belongs to Jesus and not to us?
- How should the reign of Christ shape the mission of the church?
- How does the promise of Jesus’ return give hope and urgency to Christian living?