Luke 24:50-53

THE ASCENSION

Luke 24:50-53. “ And He led them out even unto Bethany, and lifting up His hands, He blessed them. And it came to pass, while He was blessing them, He departed from them, and was borne up into heaven.” His eleventh and last appearing was in Jerusalem, where He began His ministry and sealed it with His blood. You see that His ascension took place during His final benediction, while, with uplifted hands, pronouncing blessings on them, they saw Him rise up from the earth, ascending perpendicularly toward the apex of the blue dome of the firmament, eventually passing into a cloud of unutterable whiteness and splendor, and thus disappeared from their vision.

“And saying these things, they gazing on Him, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him from their eyes. And while they were gazing up into heaven, He ascending, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who truly said, Ye Galilean men, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? The same Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come, in the manner in which you saw Him going into heaven.” (Acts 1:9-12.)

These angels are called men by way of accommodation to human senses, because they had the form of men, though invested in apparel whiter than the snow and brighter than the light. Their testimony is unmistakable, assuring the disciples that the very same Jesus is coming back, and in the same manner that the glorified Man Jesus ascended. So rest assured the very same glorified human body will come back. He went up amid clouds of unutterable splendor, whiteness, beauty, grandeur, sublimity, and glory, accompanied by the angels. So, rest assured, He will return amid the clouds of His glory, accompanied by mighty hosts of angels. If you are not expecting the very same glorified Man Jesus who went up to come back, get on your knees, and ask God to forgive your unbelief, and give you grace to believe His precious Word; not because it suits your creed or your opinion, but for the simple reason that it is the Word of God, by which you are saved, sanctified, and will be judged in the last day.

“ Then they returned into Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, having a Sabbath-day ' s journey.” Luke 24:52 : “ And they, worshipping Him, returned to Jerusalem with great joy; and they were constantly in the temple, praising and blessing God.” On the summit of Mount Olivet there is a church-edifice claiming to occupy the spot from which He ascended. There is also a stone tower, two hundred feet high, erected for the accommodation of pilgrims who desire to follow their Lord in His upward flight as far as possible. During both of my tours, I climbed it to its pinnacle.

You see in the above Scriptures that He led them out to Bethany, which is on the southeastern slope of Mount Olivet, and nearly a mile from the summit. However, a spur of the mountain runs down that way, jutting out over the village. The town was much larger in the days of Christ than now, and doubtless a portion of it was built on that mountain spur. Following the inspired history, stating that He led them to Bethany and ascended from Mount Olivet, I believe the above mentioned spur, hanging over the present village, to be the spot whence He ascended, rather than the summit of the mountain, which is pointed out to pilgrims as the place where the feet of our Lord last rested upon the earth. As Mount Olivet extends down to the bottom of the Valley of Jehoshaphat, which is very near the city i. e., under the wall the statement, “A Sabbath-day's journey,” favors the conclusion of the more remote site of the ascension; i. e., at Bethany, which is one and seven-eighths miles, and just about the distance recognized as admissible for a Jew to travel on the Sabbath without desecrating it.

As to the statement of the disciples being “constantly in the temple, praising and blessing God,” you must remember that the Holy Campus, containing thirty-five acres of ground, with many great and valuable buildings besides the temple proper, and a vast open area for the congregating multitudes of Israel, was all designated “the temple.” Every Jew enjoyed free access to these holy grounds and many of the buildings, while the temple proper was used only by the priests.