Jesus Appears

And the day that Jesus died on the cross was the day of atonement, never another atonement to be made. And when He atoned for our sins, He didn't go into the temple on earth and sprinkle His blood there on the ark of the covenant. He went to heaven, to the heavenly tabernacle. And there with His final work of atonement presented the finished work to the Father, and from that day has been serving as our High Priest, interceding for His people, the church, every single day. At the end of Luke's Gospel, Jesus appears to His disciples, and then Luke concludes with a very brief description of Christ's ascension to heaven.

And although His description is brief, the significance of that event cannot be overstated. You're listening to Renewing Your Mind, and this is the Sunday edition. R.C. Sproul preached 113 sermons through Luke's Gospel, and today we come to sermon number 113, as Dr. Sproul concludes his series in Luke. If you have missed any of the sermons, you can find them all freely available in the Ligonier app.

Simply search for Ligonier in your preferred app store and download it today. Let's hear from R.C. Sproul as he walks us through the final verses of Luke's Gospel.

R.C. Sproul, Jr. God willing, this is a watershed moment for me and for our church, as it is my intent to finish the Gospel according to Saint Luke today, which means not only the end of our study of Luke's Gospel, but it is the final of the four Gospels that we have preached through verse by verse. I'm going to move then to chapter 24, beginning at verse 36, and it asks the congregation please to stand for the reading of the Word of God. As they were talking about these things, Jesus Himself stood among them and said to them, Peace to you. But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. And He said to them, Why are you troubled and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See My hands and My feet that it is I Myself.

Touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have. And when He said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, He said to them, Have you anything here to eat?

And they gave Him a piece of broiled fish, and He took it and ate before them. Then He said to them, These are My words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled. And then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures and said to them, Thus it is written that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of My Father upon you, but stay in the city until you are clothed with power on high. And then He led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up His hands, He blessed them. And while He blessed them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven, and they worshiped Him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God. What a marvelous conclusion to volume 1 of Luke, volume 2 we've already studied, namely the book of Acts. Again, though Luke was the author, the ultimate author was God Himself who superintended by His Holy Spirit the recording of these words. This is the truth of Almighty God. Receive it in your hearts and be seated.

Let's pray. Our Father and our God, again we ask you to help us as we think about these marvelous things that have been recorded for our instruction, but also for our edification. For we ask it in Jesus' name.

Amen. In the days that elapsed between the resurrection of Jesus and His ascension, there are several times that the Scriptures tell us in which Jesus appeared to His disciples. On Easter Sunday we looked at the strange appearance that happened on the road to Emmaus when Jesus fell in step with those who were talking about the recent events, and as He eavesdropped and asked questions about what had taken place, they explained their grief and surprise about the death and the rumors of His resurrection, and how Jesus began with Moses and went through the Scriptures and explained all that the Word of God said about the coming Messiah. And then finally, the cloak that was over the eyes of these men as they walked to Emmaus was removed as Jesus joined them for dinner and then disappeared quickly from their midst. They said to one another, did not our hearts burn within us as He recounted these things? Well here in this text, in verse 36, is one of those accounts where Jesus surprises the disciples as they're gathered in Jerusalem, just as He had surprised the men on the road to Emmaus and on other occasions where He appeared to them suddenly and mysteriously. And we read in the text that as they were talking, Jesus Himself stood among them and said, peace to you.

But they were startled and frightened as if they'd seen a ghost. Now we don't know exactly what the makeup was of the resurrection body of Jesus, His glorified body, but this we know for sure, that whatever that body was composed of, we will have as well in our own resurrected bodies. And we also know emphatically that there was both continuity and discontinuity. Continuity in this sense, that the same body that was laid in the tomb was the body in which Jesus was raised and walked out of that tomb. To be sure, the body had been changed. It was now glorified. It had mysterious qualities of composition that we don't fully understand, although it was still human. It could suddenly appear here and there. It couldn't be at two places at the same time, according to its human nature, because the human nature remained human, though glorified.

And so there was both continuity, as I said, and discontinuity. There was remarkable change in the appearance of Jesus' body, but it was very clear that whenever He came, the disciples were scared to death, like they were scared by a ghost. And Jesus wanted to put their minds at ease, told them, relax, peace be with you. This is who I am. This is me myself here. Look at me. Look at my hands. Look at my legs. See the stigmata.

See the marks that are still there. I am flesh and blood, even though it is glorified flesh and blood. And then in order to make sure that they understood of the reality that this was the same body with which He'd been laid in the tomb, He says, touch me and see. A spirit doesn't have flesh and bones as you see that I have. And then He said to them, do you have anything here to eat?

I'm hungry. And only Luke could provide this kind of detail in his historical account. We read, they gave Him a piece of broiled fish.

It wasn't fried fish, but broiled, even tells us how the fish was prepared. And again, to make them relax, Jesus had this meal with them. And then He spoke these words. These are the words that I spoke when I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled. The same message He spoke to the men on the road to Emmaus, He repeats now to the full complement of the disciples, teaching them anew how all of the Word of God pointed forward to His death and to His resurrection. And then He said that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all the nations starting right here in Jerusalem. You're My witnesses, and now I'm sending you the promise of the Father upon you, speaking, of course, of the coming day of Pentecost.

But in the meantime, He orders them in these things, but stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high. Then in just a couple of words, Luke ends this book with a brief mention of the ascension of Jesus, which I believe was one of the most underrated and overlooked texts in all of sacred Scripture. We celebrate Easter. We celebrate Christmas. We consider Good Friday. But there are few people who really take time to celebrate the climactic moment of Jesus' earthly ministry, that moment when He was taken away from the disciples, that moment when He ascended into heaven.

Again, let me read the words. Then He led them out as far as Bethany. There in that circuitous close route from Jerusalem up the Mount of Olives and lifting up His hands, He blessed them. And while He blessed them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped Him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy and were continually in the temple praising God. That's how the book of Luke ends.

But if we look just a moment further and see volume 2 of Luke, we see that early in volume 2 in the book of Acts, we get a little bit more detail about the record of the ascension. So, we read in chapter 1 of Acts, so when they had come together, they asked Him, Lord, at this time will You restore the kingdom of God? And He said to them, it is not for you to know the times of the season that the Father has fixed and all of that. And then He said, and when He had said these things as they were looking on, He was lifted up, and a cloud took Him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as He went, behold, two men stood with them in white robes and said, Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven?

What are you doing? Why are you standing here fixed in one spot with your gaze focused on heaven, watching for as long as you can possibly see Him as He is taken up into the clouds? Why do you just stand here and look into heaven?

Don't you know that this same Jesus in like manner will return to you just as you've seen Him go? Now, beloved, what's the significance of the ascension? If we look up the word ascension, all it means simply is to go up.

You go up a flight of stairs, you ascend the flight of stairs. And yet there's something extremely unusual, extraordinary about the record of Jesus' ascension, because when Luke talks about the ascension of Jesus, he's not talking simply about somebody going up or even going up in the air or up in the sky. But we read in the gospels that Jesus Himself said, No man ascends into heaven except the one who has first descended from heaven. Now, you know your Bible. You know that Enoch was translated, carried up in heaven. You know that Abraham went to paradise. All of the saints in glory ascended in some sense into the heavenly realm. And yet Jesus speaks exclusively when He says, Nobody ascends into heaven except the one who has first descended from heaven.

Do you see the link? The ascension is linked to the dissension. And so when Jesus is considering His ascension, He's considering something that happens only to Him and for Him.

It's not a question of geography when Jesus speaks about leaving. And indeed, when He first announced His departure to His disciples, what was their attitude? They were crestfallen. They were brokenhearted. They were crushed in their spirits when Jesus told them He was going to leave. And it was like, He said, No, you can't say that. You can't leave us.

You have to stay here. And Jesus said, Don't you know that it's better for you if I go away than if I stay? There's not one of those disciples that understood that. They all thought it would be better for Jesus to stay than to go away. And the whole church today still believes that it would have been far better for Jesus to have stayed on earth rather than to have gone away because they don't get it.

They don't understand the import of the ascension. The point of the ascension of Jesus was where He was going and why He was going. First off, Jesus was ascending to His coronation, to His investiture. He had to leave this earth because His kingdom at that point was not of this world. His kingdom was the kingdom of heaven, and the throne was waiting for Him as He was lifted up on high and there placed at the right hand of the Father of the position of absolute authority, absolute cosmic authority.

Everybody's talking about the election right now, and there's a lot at stake in this election. But the real good news is whoever is elected will not unseat or unthrone the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords because His reign is not something in the distant future. But right now, the moment He went up into heaven and went to that place, He was put in the seat at the right hand of God, and all authority on heaven and earth was given to Him, and He was coronated there not just as King but as King of the kings and as Lord of the lords so that every earthly authority as much as they may hate Him and despise Him is nevertheless subject to Him. And Jesus this minute rules and reigns over all things.

The Lord God omnipotent in the person of Jesus Christ reigns right now. But not only was He going up in order to be crowned as King, but He had another task. He had to ascend to the heavenly sanctuary, to the Holy of Holies, which as a mere shadow had been rehearsed in Old Testament days on one day of the year and the Day of Atonement when the high priest would have the sacrifice and go into the Holy of Holies and sprinkle the blood of the sacrifice on the throne of God.

There was a high priest this year, another high priest next year, another high priest the year after that, but there was only one high priest after the order of Melchizedek who was made a high priest forever. And the day that Jesus died on the cross was the Day of Atonement. That was the Day of Atonement for all days of Atonement, never another atonement to be made. And when He atoned for our sins, He didn't go into the temple on earth and sprinkle His blood there on the ark of the covenant.

He went to heaven to the heavenly tabernacle and passed through the veil that separates heaven and earth. And there with His final work of atonement presented the finished work to the Father, and from that day has been serving as our high priest, interceding for our people, for His people, the church, every single day. You know, I pray for the people in this congregation. I know a lot of you pray for me. I have a prayer list as long as my arm. And I have really two different kinds of prayer lists. I have prayer lists where I hear about somebody that's going through a particular struggle and I'll pray for them once or twice and so on. But I also have a prayer list of people that are in serious, serious trouble and have been over a long period of time, and that's the list as long as my arm.

And I pray for those people every single day of my life without fail. Can you imagine how long the prayer list of our great high priest is that covers me, that covers you, and all who belong to Him? And so no wonder these men stood transfixed gazing as Jesus was carried away by the Shekinah glory cloud, this startling display of exultation. And as they peered into the sky and Jesus was going further and further away, they wished they would have had the Hubble telescope to continue to track Him as far as the eye could see. And the angels come and say, What are you doing standing here gazing in heaven?

Didn't you hear what He said? Go back to Jerusalem. Wait in Jerusalem until the power of the Holy Ghost comes upon you, and then you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth. And that's where the book ends.

But let's hear for a moment the rest of the story. When Luke tells us about the ascension, he describes the event from the perspective of those who were watching it, how that when they returned to Jerusalem, they didn't return sobbing in grief and tears, but they were kicking their heels together and rejoicing because now they understood where Jesus was going and why Jesus was going there. And indeed it was better for them for Him to leave than to stay. And so they returned throwing their hats in the air and glorifying God. But what about the other terminal point of this journey? Jesus was not only going to His coronation, He not only was going there to be the High Priest after the order of Melchizedek, but He had said no one ascends into heaven except the one who first came down from heaven. So beloved, this was Jesus' homecoming.

This was the second person of the Trinity who took upon Himself a human nature that Luke described in the very beginning of that mean birth of which we are told. And then He grew up in wisdom and entered into His earthly ministry. This was on the Mount of Olives from which He ascends into heaven, the same place where He groaned and travailed in prayer with the Father saying, let this cup pass for Me.

And God said, no, drink the cup. And Jesus had prayed in the upper room, God restore to Me the glory that I had with You from the foundation in the world. And that prayer was answered in the affirmative. Of course, Jesus, when You come home, You will come back to Your place of origin, back to heaven itself. A brief record of that is given to us by the Apostle John in the Apocalypse where he writes in chapter 5 of that book, verse 11, Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders and the voice of countless angels, numbering myriads of myriads, thousands of thousands, saying or singing with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.

Welcome home, Jesus! Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive honor and glory and dominion and power. And then I heard every creature in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and in the sea and all that is in them saying this, To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might and majesty forever. Handel understood it, for He shall reign forever and ever and ever.

And then how long and ever and ever. Amen. And now you know the rest of the story.

We do, don't we? And by God's grace, we are part of His glorious and gracious story of redemption. That was R.C. Sproul concluding his sermon series in the Gospel of Luke on this Sunday edition of Renewing Your Mind. These sermons were preached to the congregation of St. Andrew's Chapel in Sanford, Florida. My family and I were privileged to hear Dr. Sproul as he preached these messages and have been helped by the expositional commentary that was produced after his years of careful study and passionate preaching. That commentary can be yours for a donation of any amount at renewingyourmind.org. When you give your gift, the e-book edition will be yours to read, to search and to take with you on your smartphone or tablet. Visit renewingyourmind.org today as this offer ends at midnight. With this Luke series having come to an end, what will you hear next time? On the occasion of Reformation Month at Ligonier, in October you'll hear special sermons from the book of Romans. That's next Sunday, here on Renewing Your Mind.