Jesus' Ascension

The ascension is our most neglected doctrine. We don’t know what to do with it. Our liberal friends dismiss it on account of skepticism and rationality. Our extremely conservative friends believe scripture tells us exactly where Jesus goes – up.

But then what? Where did that lead? Where did he land? Did he land? How far is up? We've been to space, we didn’t see heaven. Or did we see heaven? We've been as far up as science can take us – is Jesus higher than that? If we try hard enough could we fly a space shuttle into heaven? If Jesus went up in time and space, doesn’t that mean he is still in time and space? Where is this up? Can we get to this up? Is Jesus still up there?

You can see the difficulty we have with this unique moment in scripture. So what do we believe about the ascension?

A lot of people believe it is a symbolic way of saying that Jesus became “spiritually” present everywhere. I’m sure you’ve thought this on some level. When Jesus ascends he goes to Heaven and becomes alive in our hearts – spiritually.

We accept this kind of language. We adopt this ideology. According to this view, though, Jesus appears without remainder. His “spiritual presence” is his only identity. This view is widely accepted, but it’s wrong.

Jesus’ identity is not the Spirit. He and the Holy Spirit are different. They are distinct agents of the Trinity.

I’m not saying, "Jesus isn’t present with us" . . . Jesus very much is . . . through the Holy Spirit . . . BUT . . . he is not spiritually present with us based on the events of the ascension. The ascension tells us Jesus’ body is intact and is residing with God.

To help us understand better . . . we need to think about heaven.

In Biblical cosmology, there are not two different locations for heaven and earth. They’re two dimensions within the same time and space continuum. The best way for me to understand this concept is to think about folding your hands together. Heaven and earth are separate but merging together and intertwining. Heaven is not on the backside of Mars but rather right here, in our world, in our space, in our lives, on Earth.

But since heaven is in another dimension besides our 3-D world, it works best to see it as relating to earth in two ways.

The first way is mystical. Jesus, in this view, can be present anywhere and everywhere on earth at the same time. Jesus isn’t present in spirit form but rather heaven is available for everyone to experience, feel, partner with, etc. When heaven is seen as available to all, Jesus’ ascended body becomes available to all.

Second, heaven is the control room for earth; it is the CEO’s office, the place from which instructions are given. Jesus proclaims, “All authority is given to me, in heaven and on earth.”

This view has Jesus making decisions from heaven as it intersects with earth. Humanity in this case can find where God/Jesus/Holy Spirit is working and go there to help further heaven on earth.

What does all this mean about the ascension? It means Jesus is with God in heaven in his bodily state. The ascension does not mean Jesus is in spirit form. The Holy Spirit is in spirit form.

The idea of the human Jesus being in heaven in his thoroughly embodied risen state, comes as a shock to many people. People think Jesus having been divine stopped being divine and became human and then stopped being human and went back to being divine.

I think our culture is so used to a Platonic idea that heaven is, by definition, “a place of spiritual, nonmaterial reality” so that the idea of a solid body being not only present but also thoroughly at home seems like a categorical mistake. The ascension, though, invites us to rethink all this.

Heaven must be seen as a place that interacts with our world. Jesus must be seen as our Messiah who is physically with God in heaven. The spirit is what is with us on earth. If you get all this confused its ok. Just remember the ascension reminds us of the ancient Christian understanding of bodily resurrection and a bodily afterlife.