With the fresh oil which He giveth, that they may not burn dim.
Yes, rise and shine for Jesus! Be brave, and bright and true,
To the true and loving Saviour, who gave Himself for you.
Oh! shine for Jesus, children! and henceforth be your way
Bright with the light that shineth unto the perfect day!”
THE ASCENSION
We come now to the last event in the history of our Saviour’s life on
earth. His work is done. His teachings are finished. His sufferings are
ended. Nothing remains for him to do but to return to heaven, from whence
he came, and take his seat at the right hand of God. And this is the
subject we are now to consider—_The Ascension of Christ_.
And in considering it, the first thing for us to notice is—_the time of
the Ascension_.
And in all the New Testament there is only one place in which anything
is said about the time of the ascension. Indeed it is surprising that
so little is said about it altogether. Two of the gospels, that of St.
Matthew and St. John, have not a word to say on the subject. And the
other two do not say much. All that St. Mark says about it is in a single
verse. We read thus in Chap. xvi: 19:—“So, then, after that the Lord had
spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right
hand of God.” There are two verses in St. Luke in which the ascension is
spoken of. In Ch. xxiv: 50, 51, we find the ascension thus described:
“And he led them out as far as to Bethany; and he lifted up his hands and
blessed them. And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted
from them, and carried up into heaven.”
The most particular account of the ascension that we have in the New
Testament is given in the “Acts of the Apostles.” In the first chapter of
this book we are told that the ascension took place “forty days after the
resurrection.” We are told of the “many infallible proofs” that he had
risen, and how he spoke to them “of the things pertaining to the kingdom
of heaven.” And he “commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem,” until
they should “be baptized with the Holy Ghost,” which was to take place
“not many days” after his ascension. “Ye shall receive power,” said he,
“after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you.” Then he told them how “they
should be witnesses for him, both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and unto
the uttermost parts of the earth.” “And when he had spoken these things,
while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their
sight.”
And then we read about the two angels who appeared to the disciples and
told them that “this same Jesus, which was taken up from you into heaven,
shall so come, in like manner, as ye have seen him go into heaven.”
In the third verse of this chapter we have the only information which
the whole Bible gives us about the _time_ of the ascension. Here we
learn that this great event took place on the _fortieth_ day after his
resurrection. We are not told why the ascension was delayed so long after
Jesus had risen from the dead. But, no doubt, there were good reasons for
it. And it may be that we shall know all about these reasons hereafter,
though we do not know them now.
If we begin and count the forty days from Easter Sunday, the fortieth
day will always come on the Thursday in the fifth week after Easter.
And this day is always kept in the Church of England, in the Protestant
Episcopal Church in this country, and in some other churches in memory of
the important event we are now considering. It is called Ascension Day,
or Holy Thursday; and the portions of Scripture read on that day all have
reference to the ascension of our blessed Lord. And this is all that need
be said about the _time_ of the ascension.
The _place_ where the ascension occurred is the next thing to notice.
From what we read in the gospel of St. Luke, we might suppose it was from
Bethany that Jesus made his ascension. Here it says, “He led them out as
far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands and blessed them. And it
came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried
up into heaven.” St. Luke xxiv: 50, 51. But in the first chapter of the
Acts of the Apostles, after describing his ascension, we read that the
disciples “returned unto Jerusalem from the Mount called Olivet.” Acts i:
12. But there is no contradiction here; for Bethany, the home of Lazarus
and his sisters, was on the Mount of Olives. It was situated just below
the top of the Mount, on the other side from Jerusalem. And so we know
that it was either from the village of Bethany, or from some spot between
that and the summit of the Mount, that Jesus made his ascension. When he
was here on earth he often went to the Mount of Olives. It was from this
mountain that “Jesus beheld the city and wept over it,” when he used that
beautiful illustration, “how often would I have gathered thy children
together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye
would not!” It was on this mountain that he sat with his disciples when
he gave that wonderful prophecy about the destruction of Jerusalem, and
his coming again into our world, of which we read in the twenty-fourth
chapter of St. Matthew.
The Mount of Olives was the last spot of this earth on which the feet of
the blessed Saviour stood before he went up to heaven. And when he comes
again into our world he will return to the place from which he ascended.
This we are told by the prophet Zechariah. For it is when he is speaking
of the return of Jesus from heaven that he says—“And his feet shall
stand at that day on the Mount of Olives.” Ch. xiv: 4. This thought very
naturally makes Olivet an interesting place to visit.
[Illustration: Jesus Revealeth Himself to Mary Magdalene
Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped
down, and _looked_ into the sepulchre. And seeth two angels in white
sitting, ... where the body of Jesus had lain. And they say unto her,
Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken
away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him. And when she had
thus said she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not
that it was Jesus. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom
seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him,
Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and
I will take him away. Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself,
and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master. Jesus saith unto
her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my
brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father;
and to my God, and your God. Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples
that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto
her.—_St. John xx: 11-18._
_NOTE BY THE ARTIST_
_It would appear that Mary Magdalene was one of the little company of
faithful women who came very early in the morning to the sepulchre, but
that she had hastened back to the city before the angelic revelation
to her companions. Once more bending her steps in sorrow to the empty
grave, to Mary, loving greatly because greatly forgiven, was vouchsafed
the privilege of first beholding her risen Lord and Master—the same,
yet wondrously changed, so that now, as on subsequent occasions when
Jesus appeared to his disciples and “their eyes were holden that they
should not know him,” it was not by outward form and aspect, but by
words of love and tenderness such as he alone could utter, that his
identity was revealed. Although the external aspect of the sepulchre
bears little resemblance to that which it presented in former times, the
rock-cut grooves which still remain, render it abundantly evident that
the entrance with its rolling stone, and the method by which the latter
was “sealed,” were such as have been already described in my Note to the
picture “The Resurrection of Lazarus.”_
74]
I remember, when at Jerusalem, a very pleasant visit we made to this
sacred Mount. It was at the close of a Sunday afternoon. The sun went
down as we stood there. And there was something very sweet and solemn in
the thought that Jesus, our glorious Lord, had once stood on that Mount,
near where we then were. It was from there that his disciples saw him
go into heaven. And when he comes back from heaven, his feet will stand
again upon the Mount of Olives. And so, when we think of our Saviour
going back to heaven, we may always remember that some spot on or near
the top of the Mount of Olives was the place of the ascension.
_The Manner of the Ascension_—is the third thing of which to speak.
It was a _visible_ ascension. There are only two other persons spoken of
in the Bible as having gone up from earth to heaven in a bodily form.
One of them was “Enoch, the seventh from Adam.” His ascension was not
visible. No one saw him go. It took place in secret. We are told in one
place that “he was not, for God took him.” In another place it is said,
“he was translated.” This is all we know about the translation of Enoch.
The other case mentioned in the Bible is that of the prophet Elijah. His
ascension was visible, indeed, but it was only seen by one person, and
that was the prophet Elisha. But it was different with the ascension of
Christ. This did not take place in secret, but in public. It was not
only visible, but was witnessed by a crowd of people. All the eleven
disciples were there to see it. And there can be no doubt that a great
many others, besides the apostles, were there too. And they all saw
him, as he rose from the midst of them, and went up to heaven. It was a
_visible_ ascension.
It was a _calm and tranquil_ ascension. It was not done in a hurry.
Solomon tells us, when speaking of God’s doings, that his “judgments are
not executed speedily.” This means they are not done in haste. God never
works in a hurry. After he gave to Adam the first promise, of a future
deliverer from the effects of sin, he waited more than four thousand
years before he sent him into the world. And, after Christ had risen from
the dead, he was not in haste to leave the world, and go back to heaven.
We might have expected that he would just have shown himself once or
twice to his disciples, so as to make them sure of his resurrection, and
would have left immediately for heaven. But it was not so. Instead of
this he remained here for forty days. He did not spend all this time in
the company of his disciples. He only showed himself to them from time
to time, and talked with them “of things pertaining to the kingdom of
God.” And when at last these days were over, and the time came for him
to go, still there was no haste about it. He did not go up with a rush,
as a rocket goes up. That would not have been like him. But, as he stood
on the Mount of Olives talking to his disciples, who were standing round
him, he began to rise slowly and silently towards heaven. And as he
began, so he went on. Slowly and silently he continued to rise. Upwards
he went, higher—and higher,—till at last a cloud received him out of
their sight. That cloud became, as it were, the chariot in which he was
carried up in triumph to heaven. It was a _calm_ and _tranquil_ ascension.
It was a _blessed_ ascension. You know how it is at the close of a
service in church. The minister lifts up his hands to bless the people,
or as we say, to pronounce the benediction. And this was what Jesus
was doing at the very moment of his ascension. He knew that the time
had come for him to go. He knew that he was about to be separated from
his disciples, and that they would see him no more in this world. So
he lifted up his hands to bless them; and, while he was in the act of
speaking those words of blessing, the ascension took place. As his hands
were stretched out to bless his disciples, he rose calmly in the midst of
them and went back to heaven, from whence he came.
It was said of him before he came into our world, that—“men should be
blessed in him:” Ps. lxxii: 17. He was the promised seed of Abraham,
in whom it was declared that “all the nations of the earth should be
blessed.” Gen. xxii: 18. The blessing of the world was wrapped up in
Jesus. When he came into the world, he came to bless it. And when he
began his public ministry in the Sermon on the Mount, the first thing of
which he had to speak was the blessings he came to bring. We read, “And
when he was set, his disciples came to him, and he opened his mouth and
taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit, &c. Blessed are they
that mourn, &c. Blessed are the meek, &c. Blessed are the merciful, &c.
Blessed are the pure in heart, &c.” He began his work in blessing; he
continued it in blessing; and he ended it in blessing. But the work of
blessing in which he had been engaged here did not cease when he ascended
into heaven. He has been carrying on the work of blessing men ever since
he ascended. He went to heaven to procure for his people the best of all
possible blessings. He told his disciples that it was necessary for him
to leave them and go to heaven; because if he did not go the Holy Ghost
would not come to them; but that when he went to heaven he would send the
Spirit to be their helper and comforter. It is the Holy Spirit who helps
us to understand the Scriptures and who teaches us how to love and serve
God. And whatever helps us to do this is the best thing—the greatest
blessing for us. And when we know that Jesus went to heaven to obtain for
us the help of God’s grace and Spirit, we may well say that the ascension
of Christ was a blessed ascension.
The only other thing we have to say about the ascension of Christ is that
it was a _wonderful_ ascension. There were two wonderful things connected
with it. It was wonderful to think _where_ he went. He did not go simply
to join the company of the angels, who have always lived in heaven, and
of the good people who went there when they died. No; but he went where
no one else had ever gone before, and where no one else could go. When he
arrived in heaven, he rose above all the company that was there, and took
his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. This was wonderful,
indeed. When Jesus was on earth, he was so poor that he “had not where
to lay his head.” He was despised and persecuted; “a man of sorrows and
acquainted with grief.” He was put to death as a criminal, by being
crucified between two thieves. But when he ascended into heaven it was
to take his place “far above all principalities and powers.” And so his
ascension was wonderful when we think—_where_ he went.
And it was wonderful, too, when we think _how_ he went there. If he had
left his human body behind him, and had ascended to heaven simply in his
divine nature, as God, it would not have been so wonderful. But he did
not do this. He took his human body with him. The body that was nailed to
the cross and laid in the grave, he took with him to heaven. He ascended,
indeed, as the Son of God. But that was not all. No, for he ascended as
the Son of man, too. It was Jesus Christ who ascended into heaven. But
it was our human nature, as well as the divine nature which helped to
make up the person of Jesus Christ. And so when he ascended into heaven,
and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God, he took our human
nature with him. He took a body like yours and mine, up to that high and
glorious place. And he is sitting there now, on the throne of God, as our
brother. _This_ is the most surprising thing connected with the great
event we are now considering. This shows us how wonderful the ascension
of Christ was.
And so, in studying this subject, these are the things about it that
we have noticed, viz.: the _time_ of the ascension—forty days after
the resurrection; the _place_ of the ascension—the Mount of Olives;
the _manner_ of the ascension—_visible—calm and tranquil—blessed—and
wonderful_.
There are several lessons that may be learned from the ascension of our
Saviour, but we can only speak of one. This is _the lesson of obedience
to the command of Christ_.
Just before he went up to heaven, Jesus said to his disciples—“Go ye into
all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” St. Mark xvi:
15. This is the last command he gave to his people. He kept it till now
because he wished it to be especially remembered. When we lose a father,
or mother, or a friend whom we love very much, we listen attentively to
the words spoken by that friend as we gather round the dying bed. We may
forget some things spoken by him in the days of his health and strength,
but those last words that were spoken just before he died, we always
remember. They seem very sacred to us, and we pay particular attention
to them. And no doubt this was the reason why Jesus kept this command
about the missionary work he wishes his people to engage in, till now.
He had finished his work for them. He had died for them. He had done
all that was necessary for them to be saved, and to be happy with him
forever in heaven. He knew how much they ought to love him for all this.
And he knew that those who really did love him would wish to show their
love by doing what he had told them to do. And so he kept this—the most
important of all his commands—to the last. He wished it to be connected
with the thought of his leaving the world and going back to heaven. And
as they gathered round him, to see him and hear him for the last time
on earth, he spoke these words:—“Go, ye, into all the world, and preach
the gospel to every creature.” He did not speak them for the apostles or
the early Christians only. No; but he spoke them for you, and for me,
and for all his people, till the end of time. He intended his church to
be a missionary church. He intended that all the members of that church
should feel an interest in the missionary work, and that they should do
all they can to help it on. This command is very broad. It takes in “all
the world,” and “every creature.” We have no right to make the field for
this work narrower than Jesus made it. And, until the gospel has been
preached in “all the world,” and until “every creature” has heard it,
this command of Christ is binding upon all his loving people. If we do
not have the missionary spirit which these words require us to have,
that is, if we are not trying all we can to bring “every creature,” in
“all the world,” to be the friend and servant of Jesus and to be saved
by him, then, it is clear, either that we are not loving Jesus as we
ought to love him; or else, we are not showing our love for him in the
way in which he wishes us to show it. He says, “If ye love me, keep my
commandments.” And this is his last and most solemn command for us to
remember, and keep.
When he says—“Go ye into all the world and preach,” he does not mean that
all his people must leave their homes and go out as ordained ministers.
What he means is that whether we go out as missionaries, or not, we
must have the missionary spirit, and must do all we can to help the
missionaries in their work. We must try to get those around us to know,
and love, and serve Jesus. And the important question for us all to
consider here is—how can we do this? In answering this question, let me
point out _four_ ways in which this may be done.
We can be missionaries, and help to preach the gospel, _by our example_.
A little boy named Ernest had begun to love the Lord Jesus Christ and to
be a Christian. One day he said to his aunt, “Now I want to grow up a big
man, and then I will be a minister and preach to lots of people about
Jesus.”
His aunt told him that he need not wait till he was a man before he began
to preach. “Try now, every day, to learn your lessons well,” said his
aunt; “to be kind, and gentle to all, and try by God’s help to overcome
your bad temper, and so, by your example you may be preaching Jesus every
day.”
“The Children’s Service.” A little girl went to a Children’s service one
Sunday afternoon. On going home she told her mother about it. “What led
you to go, Mary?” asked the mother.
“I went, mamma,” she said, “because I was invited to come by a kind boy
that I met in the street yesterday. I saw him stop and stroke a donkey
that was frightened by a cruel boy. Then he kindly picked up my ball that
was rolling away and returned it to me. As he did this he handed me a
paper about the children’s service, and invited me to come. I knew he was
a good boy because he was so kind and had such a happy face. He said he
was sure I would like the services; and I did like them. And I mean to go
every time.”
“A Young Hero.” Thirty years ago a boy had given his heart to the
Saviour. He had been confirmed and joined the church. The next day he
went to school. Some of the wild boys of the school heard that he had
joined the church, and they made up their minds to have some fun with him
about it. At recess time they formed a ring about him, and cried out:
“Oh! here is the good boy, Charley! He is going to be a Christian!”
And what did Charley do? Did he feel ashamed and try to steal away? Did
he get angry, and hit, or kick, or speak cross to them? No. But he calmly
looked the rude boys in the face, and said, in a manly way: “Yes, boys,
I am trying to be a Christian. And isn’t that right?”
The boys’ consciences told them he was right. They felt ashamed. The ring
was broken up at once, and Charley had no more trouble.
He was preaching by his example.
“A Beautiful Illustration.” Mary Duncan was a little girl, only four
years old, who was trying to be a Christian. This incident shows us that
even at that early age she was beginning to preach, and do good by her
example.
One day she was playing with her little brother. In a fit of anger he
struck her in the face. But instead of screaming out, or striking him
back, she quietly turned to him the other cheek; and said, “There Corie,
now strike that!” The uplifted hand was dropped. The tears came into her
brother’s eyes. He kissed her, and said—“Forgive me, sister, and I’ll
never strike you again.”
When Mary was asked what led her to do so, her reply was that she had
heard her papa read out of the Bible, at prayers that morning, what Jesus
had said about it.
And so if we try to be like Jesus, we may be helping to keep his last
command, and to preach the gospel—by our example.
Another way in which we may do this is—_by our efforts_. This means by
what we say and do to show that we love him, and to try to bring others
to do so too. We find many illustrations of the way in which this may be
done.
“Preaching in the Hayfield.” A good, earnest minister of the gospel was
riding one day past a hayfield. A sudden shower was coming up. He saw a
farmer, who never went to church, sending off in haste for a horse to
draw his hay in before the rain came. The minister stopped and offered
his horse to do the work. It was declined; but the minister insisted, and
pulling off his coat, unhitched his horse and went to work helping the
farmer to load the hay. They got in several loads, and when the last load
was in the barn, and the rain came pouring down, the farmer drew out his
pocket book, and said:
“How much do I owe you, sir, for your help?”
“Oh, nothing,” said he, “nothing at all.”
But the farmer insisted on paying him for his work.
“Well, my friend,” said the minister, “did you ever hear an Irishman
preach?”
“No,” said the farmer.
“Well, you come next Sunday, and hear me preach, and we’ll call it even.”
[Illustration: On the Road to Emmaus
And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus,
which was from Jerusalem _about_ threescore furlongs. And it came to
pass, that, while they communed _together_ and reasoned, Jesus himself
drew near, and went with them. But their eyes were holden that they
should not know him. And he said unto them, What manner of communications
_are_ these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad? And
the one of them, whose name was Cleophas, answering said unto him, Art
thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which
are come to pass there in these days? And he said unto them, What things?
And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth.... And how the
chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and
have crucified him.... To-day is the third day since these things were
done. Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished,
which were early at the sepulchre. And when they found not his body, they
came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said
that he was alive. And certain of them which were with us went to the
sepulchre, and found _it_ even so as the women had said: but him they saw
not. Then he said unto them, O fools.... And beginning at Moses and all
the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things
concerning himself.—_St. Luke xxiv: 13, 15-25, 27._
_NOTE BY THE ARTIST_