Luke tells the story of Jesus Christ’s ascension twice (Luke 24:51; Acts 1:9-11), and the longer ending of Mark also mentions it, adding that at his ascension ‘he sat at the right hand of God’ (Mark 16:19). Saying that Jesus sat down might seem like an insignificant detail, yet the Creed picks up on this aspect of the Ascension and in our header scripture the writer of Hebrews says this is the main point of what he has written in the first seven chapters of his epistle, and is a theme that runs throughout his letter (Hebrews 1:3; 10:12; 12:2). It is also a symbol that the glorified Jesus referred to when he said, ‘To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne.’ (Revelation 3:21). So, what is so important about Jesus sitting down?

If you had visited either the Tabernacle or the Temple one feature would have been conspicuous: sacrifices were repeated daily by the priests. Thousands of priests throughout all the centuries preceding Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross always stood in their service. None of them ever sat down because their work was always incomplete. That’s why there were no seats either in the Tabernacle or the Temple: it was an outward sign that their work was never finished. This is why we are told, ‘At that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord, to stand before the Lord to minister and to pronounce blessings in his name, as they still do today.’ (Deuteronomy 10:8 emphasis mine).

Jesus, however, offered one sacrifice for sins forever. A perfect sacrifice, and then he sat down, and his sitting down was equivalent to saying ‘mission accomplished’. His atoning sacrifice for our sins is gloriously complete. In everyday life, sitting suggests completion. A busy mother’s family may ask her, ‘When are you going to sit down?’ And her answer may be, ‘When I have finished what I need to do’. Well Jesus’s sitting down signifies what theologians call ‘the finished work of Christ’. His sacrifice was final, conclusive and forever.

He does not need to offer that sacrifice continually to God. His sitting declares the Father’s complete satisfaction with what Jesus perfectly accomplished at Calvary. It signifies that Jesus was victorious over sin, Satan, and death.

The Ascension of Jesus to the throne of God the Father, where he reassumed his former glory, was the fulfilment, and completion of Jesus’ earthly ministry. The salvation of the world was accomplished, and so the disciples rejoiced at his departure and gave him the worship he is due (Luke 24:51-53) – can we do any less?

Local congregation:
Grace Communion West Hampstead 
Sidings Community Centre
150 Brassey Road
West Hampstead
London
NW6 2BA

Meeting time:
Sunday 12.30 pm

Local congregational contact:
Gordon Brown
gordon.brown@gracecom.church

Word of Life contact:  
wordoflife@gracecom.church