I saw in the night visions,
and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man,
and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him.
And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom,
that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him;
his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away,
and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.
Daniel 7:13-14
Happy Feast of the Ascension! Today marks 40 days since our Lord rose again from the dead on Easter Sunday, and it is the day that He was lifted up, covered by a cloud, and taken into Heaven (Acts 1:6-11). Before ascending, Jesus told the disciples to proclaim the Good News of the Gospel.
Our text from Daniel above shows us that when Jesus ascended into Heaven, He became the king of all peoples, nations, and languages. He is the Son of Man who received dominion, glory, and a kingdom from His Father, the Ancient of Days. In other words,
He became the King of all.
Why is that important? Well, let me tell you:
If Jesus is the ascended King of all, then He belongs to everyone and everyone belongs to Him. He is the King of both Jews and Gentiles; men and women; poor and rich; young and old. He is your king, my king, and everyone else’s too – even if they don’t acknowledge Him (yet). Let us serve Him faithfully so that others worship this great King with us!
Moreover, if Jesus is the ascended King of all, then our celebrities, bosses, parents, and politicians
are not. These earthly 'kings' will all let us down, be replaced, or fade away. But Christ’s Kingdom is different. It is a perfect and everlasting kingdom that will never decay, be defeated, or fail – it will endure forever. Have hope!
Now here's something else: If Jesus is the ascended King of all, then neither
are we. That takes some pressure off. We do not need to “get it all together,” or always have the right answer, or be the best at everything we do. Instead, we can trust Jesus to be in charge, to do what is best, and to fix what is broken. Phew!
Finally, if Jesus is the ascended King of all, then we need not fear. We need not fear the coronavirus, other people, unemployment, our failures, or even death. Jesus is already King; He is already ruling; and He has already destroyed the power of sin and death. What else is there to fear?
So on this blessed Feast of the Ascension, let us rejoice and celebrate our Ascended Lord who sits at the right hand of the Father. He is coming again soon... but even now He is King of all, and that really is Good News!
In Christ,
BJ